As the weather continues to warm up, concerns about wildfire is already in the minds of firefighters in the region.
To prepare, the Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department (DVFD) has organized its first Wildfire Boot Camp Training, from April 12 to April 14.
“The weekend is meant for us to really spend some solid time focusing on our wildfire training, preparing our equipment, getting out in the community, and putting everything to the test,” said DVFD fire chief Nick Acciavatti. “For this training weekend some of our crew will be camping out for the weekend much like crews do when they are out on provincial deployment in order to get the full experience of being on the fire line.”
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The Coastal Fire Centre’s BC Wildfire Service initial attack crews will be helping out during the training to review their truck and discus interagency operations.
“This is the first event that we know of that will be happening on the Island and our longterm goal would be to turn this into an event that could be open to other Island departments,” said Acciavatti.
This past week the DVFD has loaded up their fire trucks, checked over equipment and are getting ready for the training weekend and the upcoming season.
Last summer, the region experienced a huge wildfire at the Cameron Bluffs that impacted close to 260 hectares of land. Highway 4 between Qualicum Beach and Port Alberni was closed for a long period of time as firefighters battled the fire.
Acciavatti aims to have their crew ready when called to assist the BC Wildfire Service.