Firefighters were stationed outside a Sobeys in Fall River, N.S., on Saturday in hopes of educating shoppers on safety procedures ahead of wildfire season — and in the wake of last year’s historic fires that destroyed hundreds of homes throughout the province.
Paul Irving, a retired firefighter, said the event’s objective was to inform residents about methods that could potentially prevent their homes from experiencing significant damage in the case of a wildfire.
Irving said there are “two main messages” from the crew at Halifax Fire Station 45.
“Most of our fires are caused by people burning. We have a burning bylaw, and you really want people to understand that following that bylaw is very important,” he said during an interview with Global News on Saturday.
His other recommendation was for residents to take advantage of a service offered through the municipality’s FireSmart program, which is said to provide free wildfire risk assessments to homes in the Halifax area.
“It teaches you to make your home defensible,” he said.
“The big demon in wildfires is the trees that have needles on them. You shouldn’t have those too close to your home. … We’d like people to change that and pick trees that are less likely to burn. Anything with leaves is much better than the things with needles.”
According to the Halifax Regional Municipality’s website, the FireSmart program teaches residents how to decrease their home’s risk of being susceptible to wildfires through several steps including emergency planning, vegetation management, and education.
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“Residents will be given a report of their homes and recommendations for reducing the risk of interface fire on their property structures,” the site says.
Aaron Van Nostrand, a Halifax Fire Lieutenant, was also present at the information booth outside of Sobeys on Saturday. He said he hopes more people will utilize the FireSmart service.
“You can call 311 and have a fire department assessor come out and go through the checklist with you. It’s totally free,” he said.
“We’ll help you go through the checklist and take on little things that you can do to help stack the odds in your favour.”
Last year, Nova Scotia recorded its largest-ever wildfire after a devastating blaze broke out on May 26, 2023, in Barrington Lake, burning through 23,379 hectares and taking about two months to fully extinguish. The fire forced more than 6,000 people from their homes and destroyed 60 houses and cottages, as well as 50 other structures.
The fire in the southwestern corner of Nova Scotia erupted two days before another devastating wildfire started in the Upper Tantallon area amid a large swath of suburban neighbourhoods surrounded by woodlands northwest of Halifax. That fire burned 969 hectares, destroyed 151 homes, and forced more than 16,000 residents to flee the area.
Irving said there is an increased willingness from residents to take adequate safety measures in comparison with recent years, largely attributing it to the damaging wildfires that brought the province to a halt last spring.
“Everybody thinks that a brush fire starts somewhere, you call a fire department, and they come put it out. After last year, I think people are understanding that it’s not quite that simple,” he said.
“If the fire starts and the weather is bad for wildfires that day, there really is not much chance the fire department is going to be able to put it out. So, what we need to do is make people think about it beforehand and prepare their property so they’re not defenseless.”
The message resonated with Ken Brand while he was out grocery shopping on Saturday morning, as he stopped to chat with some members of the fire department on his way out of Sobeys.
“It’s important that people are aware and take simple steps to ensure their own personal safety,” Brand said after his chat.
“It takes no time at all to listen to what these gentlemen have to say. If you’re in a rush, take a brochure and read it at home, don’t throw it in the garbage. It’s important.”
— with files from Global News’ Vanessa Wright and the Canadian Press
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