(Image credit - CFJC Today)

By Michael Reeve

FIRESMART COMMUNITY

Spring is the best time to firesmart your home: Kamloops Fire Rescue

Apr 6, 2023 | 4:13 PM

KAMLOOPS — With the snow melted from most Kamloops neighbourhoods and temperatures rising, Kamloops Fire Rescue is hoping residents will take some time this spring to ensure their homes are firesmart.

“Early spring is really the best time to go around and assess what needs to be done on your property and get to work on it long before the heat and the flames from fire season arrive — because by then, it’s too late,” said KFR Life Safety Educator Capt. Jamie Chase.

The firesmart process begins by looking at the things closest to the house and working outward.

“We start with the structure itself and then work outward. The top priority things right on the house and then that 1.5-meter zone… But then we do want to continue to expand that outward from there,” added Chase.

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KFR is still looking into finding funding solutions to help homeowners on big ticket items like the removal of cedar hedges. Chase noted that working to firesmart your home can be a slow process over a number of years.

“Some of the bigger ticket items that a homeowner might have to do could be something they have to budget for down the road. But, in the meantime there is always going to be lots more that they can chip away. Try to improve things every year to work toward being more firesmart,” advised Chase.

People interested in improving the safety of their homes can reach out to Kamloops Fire Rescue for a free assessment of their property.

“Really, what it is going to come down to — whether that house survives the wildfire — is the work the homeowner did in the years and months prior to that wildfire ever arriving,” said Chase.