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By Victor Kaisar

Wildfire Response

TNRD reports lots of interest from community groups seeking grant funding for wildfire training, PPE

Apr 20, 2025 | 1:11 PM

KAMLOOPS — The Thompson Nicola Regional District (TNRD) says there has been a lot of interest from community groups that are looking for grant funding that will pay for training and personal protective equipment ahead of the summer wildfire season.

CAO Scott Hildebrand says there have been 18 applications for the Cooperative Community Wildfire Response program, which is being piloted by the Union of BC Municipalities.

“We we’re very hopeful on getting a bunch of applicants and we got more than we ever thought,” Hildebrand said at the April 17 TNRD meeting. “We’re reviewing applications for eligibility right now on a first-come, first-serve basis.”

“We do expect to be oversubscribed as the maximum funding allowable to this was $10,000 per group and the funding maximum for the TNRD was $100,000.”

Hildebrand says the TNRD has reached out to the BC Wildfire Service to ask for more money, but added it is still waiting to hear back.

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“We’re hopeful that we can continue to pursue this and try to get some more funding,” Hildebrand added.

The grant program is meant to support Community Emergency Response Organizations (CEROs) in rural areas of the TNRD that are not covered by a structural fire protection service. It follows successful partnerships between the BCWS and CEROs in the Knutsford area in 2023 and in Venables Valley in 2024.

Money will go towards training and personal protective equipment (PPE) so that these community groups have the base level qualifications needed to be contracted by the BC Wildfire Service. They won’t have the authority to start fighting fires without approval from the BC Wildfire Service.

“The idea with this program is they can take that training ahead of time to be prepared,” TNRD General Manager of Operations Jamie Vieira told CFJC last month.

“What happened in 2023 with the group in Knutsford as well as last year with the Venables Valley group is that they both were getting training while the fire was literally burning in their backyard.”

The TNRD previously said that training courses would be taking place in April and May, and Hildebrand said that the work is already underway.

“One group has already been trained and is in the process of acquiring their PPE and will be ready to be deployed for BC Wildfire,” Hildebrand said.

“We’re excited about this and we’re certainly taking advantage in our regional district.”

You can find more on Community Emergency Response Organizations and the grant program here.