Firefighters, fight fires, it’s in their job title, but they are also responsible for keeping the community safe in many other ways.
“There is more to our department than just fires and in the event of a disaster we are prepared to help serve the community,” said Fire Chief Stephanie Dunlop.
In Metchosin, the fire department attends to a variety of emergencies from fires, car crashes and medical calls, among many other day-to-day roles and responsibilities.
In additional to these daily events, in the event of a local or regional disaster the firefighters would play a key role in mitigation and response. The fire department has the training, tools and contingency planning in place to deal with whatever Mother Nature has in store.
It’s not only the fire department that has emergency preparedness plans for the District of Metchosin.
Area residents and businesses are very fortunate to have a dedicated public works department whose members also have responsibilities and tasks to perform in the case of an emergency – including roadways, culverts and bridges. Many of these efforts are resiliency efforts taking place throughout the year prior to an event.
A free information session put on by the Metchosin Emergency Program next Tuesday (Oct. 18) will explain the resources available to both the fire department and public works in the event of a disaster, emergency or an area inconvenience.
“This a great way for us to share how we are prepared to serve the community and also to reinforce what our residents can do at home as well,” said Dunlop. “Meeting with residents at these info sessions is a powerful tool we can all use toward community and personal emergency preparedness.”
The info session begins at 7 p.m. at the Metchosin Fire Department, 4440 Happy Valley Rd. For more information, call 250-478-1307. A door prize is up for grabs at every session.
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