Richard Froese
South Peace News
Big Lakes County is applying for a FireSmart grant to launch a home fire assessment program.
At its regular meeting Feb. 12, council agreed to apply to the Forest Resource Improvement Association of Alberta (FRIAA) for a grant of up to $15,000.
“Full grant funding would allow the Big Lakes County Fire Services to conduct up to 100 home assessments,” Pat Olansky, director of community services and planning, told council.
“If successful, the fire service will continue to submit grant applications from FRIAA for future home assessments as part of FireSmart.”
Fire chief Jason Cottingham says the home fire assessments are helpful to residents and property owners.
“It’s to help people protect themselves and their properties from wild- fires.”
“Home assessments are not new to Alberta.”
“It’s to help people protect themselves from wildfires.”
The program is a voluntary service for residents seeking to determine and protect their property’s risk to wildfire, Olansky said.
“It’s the next step to take after using the ‘FireSmart Begins at Home’ app or completing the self-assessment scorecard,” Olansky added.
The assessment is conducted by a formally-trained assessor who will visit the property with the resident and review key areas within the home ignition zone.
“The assessment will highlight areas of risk and provide specific recommendations for actions and upgrades residents can take to increase their property’s resilience to wildfire,” Olansky says.
The assessor will provide a comprehensive report once the assessment is complete.
She says the program is currently working with insurance companies to reduce insurance costs if a formal inspection is done and the corrective actions are complete.
FireSmart teaches residents and stakeholders how to reduce the risks and impacts of fires that affect communities and infrastructure, she says.
“Preparing for the threat of wildfire is a shared responsibility,” Olansky says.
All levels of government, residents, community leaders and industry have a responsibility to lessen the effects of wildfire.