The Regional District of Nanaimo is applying for a $200,000 grant for training purposes and purchase of equipment that will be shared by fire departments in the region.
The RDN wants to take advantage of the provincial grant, Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, which is administered by the Union of BC Municipalities.
The RDN fire services staff has worked with fire departments in the regional district to explore collaborative opportunities on regional projects. Two initiatives were identified.
One is propane live fire training props that could be added to the existing regional fire training facility at the Qualicum Beach Fire Department, which will also be used by Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department and Coombs-Hilliers Volunteer Fire Department.
The Qualicum Beach fire training facility has already fire simulation screens that was funded through the CEPF. The addition of propane live fire training props will expand the training scenarios conducted on site. It will also provide a safe and controlled live fire training experience for firefighters, which staff indicated is unavailable at this joint training facility.
As well, three firefighters will also be given the opportunity to attend the 2025 Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit, where they will be able to enhance their wildland firefighting skills, contributing to regional resilience against interface wildfires. This will be funded by the grant as well. The total project budget for the propane fire training props for 2025 is $120,000.
The second project is the developing of a joint training facility for the Nanoose Bay Volunteer Fire Department (NBVFD) and the District of Lantzville’s Volunteer Fire Department. The plan is to build a two-storey training facility on the existing Nanoose Bay firehall property at 2471 Nanoose Rd. Each fire department will be vying for a $40,000 CEPF grant. If successful, the money will be added to the other sources of funding for the project that include a $50,000 fund donated to the NBVFD, and $30,000 from each of the fire department's budget.
The proposed training facilities and props in the CEPF application aims to provide regional district firefighters with access to training that meets British Columbia's Minimum Training Standards without requiring them to leave their communities.
The RDN board, at its regular meeting on Nov. 12, approved staff recommendation to apply to the CEPF for $200,000 and also have the RDN manage the fund on behalf of the fire departments that will be using the proposed training facility and the training props.
