Civilian-Oriented Wildfire Safety Instruction from Jake Jacobson
C-100 Wildfire Safety Instruction is a new one-day program geared to property owners, and Jake Jacobson of Wildwood Resources Ltd., Salmon Arm, British Columbia, (B.C.), immediately delivered six sessions of C-100 to over 100 people this spring and summer in the Shuswap.
In the past few fire seasons, some of which have been pretty intense, Jacobson began hearing from rural people concerned about wildfire fighting capacity. He was approached by organized groups of people from separate communities looking for assessments or opportunities to improve firefighting capabilities.
The fact is, in contemporary B.C., forestry wildfire situations can be perilous to homes, acreages, and ranch and farm operations, with fire safety resources absent, depleted or diverted, the capacity to take action against wildfires has been reduced in size and efficiency.
The reality is Jacobson encounters people who are not experienced in fighting fires but who happen to be motivated to learn basic firefighting skills and to equip themselves in the event of wildfire.
The result has communities informally laying out strategic plans. Privately-owned resources will be available for other private homeowners in a bid to improve public safety.
Jacobson likens it to the old-time Bucket Brigade, "Think in terms of fighting fires before fire departments existed and you will understand the thoughts circulating in rural Canada. Communities are calling me because word is getting around that I developed this course."
Jacobson is willing to put the C-100 course in the hands of trainers. "I am looking for qualified trainers who can instruct a course on wildland fire knowledge, someone who has been on fires and is a good communicator. Someone with Indigenous background and connections might wish to train people on Reserves."
Jacobson has developed a suitable set of instructions in the course, with the situation facing Canada in climate, "My program is effective because it starts with the assessment of private individuals' capacity within communities. Equipment inventories includes items such as, shovels, rakes, chainsaws, backhoes, trucks, generators, water pumps, hoses, and water storage crates, safety services and skills.
“It takes about 6 to 7 hours to deliver a wide perspective on wildfires, a 'big picture' look at wildfire preparation scenarios.”
On the day before Canada Day, "We went an extra hour and half because the program bends to a community's needs. It depends on how organized or unorganized a community is with fire safety awareness. The meetings thus far include rural homeowners, property owners, managers, business operators, and people right up to their late 70s living on property in remote locations."
The C-100 course is for civilians and private property owners or managers, not fire fighters or professionals. “The key to the program is making use of available resources, in essence, building a pool of privately-held firefighting resources.”
The problems of remote communities are not new in areas of public safety like fire prevention and fire-fighting, by any means, "Back to the old days a bucket brigade was a demonstration of community spirit."
C-100 is designed to fill holes in public safety, whereas wildfire suppression is managed by the provincial forestry departments. The experience with wildfires in recent years shows, "it often takes two or three hours for fire suppression personnel to show up."
In reality, BCWS has jurisdiction, while at the same time, resources available for wildfire fire fighting have deteriorated.
For this reason, neighboring communities are networking and working together, to discuss plans. “It's an amazing development working together in the North Shuswap and area.”
For more information, contact Jake Jacobson at 1-250-832-2300. Salmon Arm, British Columbia, Canada
Article prepared July 7, 2024 / Updated
