Fire

Despite the steady reduction in rates of fire that have been witnessed in Canada in recent years, ongoing research has demonstrated that there continue to be striking inequalities in the way in which fire risk is distributed through society. It is well-established that residential dwelling fires are not distributed evenly through society, but that certain … Read more

This report examines 42,701 residential1 fire incidents reported to the British Columbia (BC) Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) between 1988 and 2015, inclusive (22.4% of the 190,564 fire incidents reported over this time). The high-level purpose of this analysis was to examine the significance of the method of fire control and fire safety systems … Read more

In June 2011, BC Hydro commenced implementation of its Smart Metering Program, which involved converting every residential property in British Columbia from legacy metering to wireless technology smart meters. This Smart Metering Program involves replacing existing electrical meters that are now becoming obsolete, with a comprehensive wireless smart metering system. In total, BC Hydro has … Read more

Reducing fires and saving lives is a mandate for all Fire Services. Globally, many departments have implemented door to door campaigns to educate their citizens on fire reduction and safety (TriData, 2009). However, focusing on an entire community is expensive, time consuming, and overall, an inefficient use of limited resources. A 2007 TriData report on … Read more

In 2007, the Canadian Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) released a report on “Fire Prevention in Aboriginal Communities”. Within the paper it was noted that the “First Nations per capita fire incidence rate is 2.4 times the per capita rate for the rest of Canada. The death rate is 10.4 times greater; the fire injury … Read more

Reducing fires and saving lives is a mandate for all Fire Services. Globally, many departments have implemented door to door campaigns to educate their citizens on fire reduction and safety (TriData, 2009). However, focusing on an entire community is expensive, time consuming, and overall, an inefficient use of limited resources. A 2007 TriData report on … Read more

The intent of this study is to develop an understanding of the forces and factors that trigger and accelerate the decline of residential properties in the City of Surrey, British Columbia (BC), and to create a framework for action that can stem such decline. Identifying residential properties trending toward a distressed state is essential given … Read more

This study is intended to raise awareness and initiate discussion around fire and life safety issues existing at non-compliant recovery houses in Surrey, British Columbia, and to provide the rationale for increased coverage of safety at these facilities with a fire sprinkler requirement. Recovery houses provide valuable services for persons recovering from substance abuse, along … Read more

In Canada, 45% of men and 41% of women will battle cancer in their lifetime. If you are a firefighter, your chances are 9% higher.

This report builds the 2012 report, “Smoke alarms work, but not forever,” which made three main points: present, functioning smoke alarms save lives; smoke alarm functionality deteriorates with time; and targeted prevention and education efforts increase functioning smoke alarm coverage. The conclusion of the 2012 report was to issue a challenge to the communities of BC to work … Read more