Image Credit: CFJC Today

By Adam Donnelly

IAFF TRAINING

Kamloops hosts interface firefighting course for structural firefighters

Aug 2, 2023 | 5:25 PM

KAMLOOPS — For residents of the West End neighbourhood, coming home to see fire trucks, hoses and more than a dozen firefighters on your street could be a little concerning.

Thankfully, Wednesday’s (Aug. 2) fire is a simulated one. These firefighters are taking part in a training program hosted by the City of Kamloops and the International Association of Fire Fighters (IAFF) meant to prepare them for what to do should an interface fire happen in their community.

“We talk a lot in this course about evacuations and public safety because that’s the key to any responder’s priorities,” Phill Veneris, Lead Instructor, explains. “Coming in, safely assessing the area for themselves, and then moving people out of harm’s way and then defending homes is the overall strategy.”

Firefighters from across Western Canada gathered in Kamloops for the two-day training event, to learn from instructors like Veneris, a long-time member of CALFIRE. The lead Canadian instructor is Kamloops Fire Rescue’s very own Mark Brise, who says it’s important to be agile when interface fires break out.

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“It all depends on what the fire is doing, but time is the most important thing in any of these incidents,” Brise explains. “How much time do we have, or how little time do we have to do what we need to do? The quicker these guys can move around in an interface area like this and redeploy their hose, the more houses they could help protect.”

While the ultimate goal of wildland firefighters and structural firefighters might be the same, the training and terminology can be very different.

Todd Derum, another CALFIRE vet and IAFF Trainer says it’s important to note those differences in order to help bridge the gap.

“Simply and respectfully stated, [a house fire] is a fire in a box. It’s not necessarily moving,” Serum explains. “Whereas a wildland-urban interface fire, the fire is out of the box. Now it’s moving, now you have structure fires and other hazards and risks, as well as it impacts power infrastructure, traffic, and so on and so forth.”

The IAFF partnered with the City of Kamloops, KFR and Natural Resources Canada to help offer this critical training to these firefighters, training that appears to be more important as each new fire season comes around.

Image Credit: CFJC today

“BC Wildfire is really resourced out on a lot of fires,” KFR Chief Ken Uzeloc explains. “Having this type of training, to know the tactics and to be able to do it safely for our firefighters, to protect homes and structures, is key to what we do.”