A number of fire departments in the region will benefit from provincial funding that will help keep people safer in emergencies.
Through the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund, the province is providing more than $9 million for more than 130 projects throughout B.C. that will support approximately 230 fire departments that are fully or partially staffed by volunteers.
The funding is intended to help fire departments conduct and expand training, buy or replace equipment, and expand their capacity.
In the Cowichan Valley, the Cowichan Valley Regional District will receive $271,000 for a Cowichan Valley Volunteer and Society Fire Department 2024 Grant Project; Cowichan Tribes is earmarked for $40,000 for personal protective equipment for firefighters; the City of Duncan will get $40,000 for interior and exterior operations training; the Lake Cowichan fire department will receive $34,500 for equipment and training; the Thetis Island Improvement District will receive about $27,000 for a fire equipment upgrade; and North Cowichan will get $11,000 for wild-land equipment.
“Communities throughout the Cowichan Valley will be safer and better resourced with this new funding that gives hard-working volunteer fire fighters the training and equipment they need to do their job well,” said Debra Toporowski, MLA for the Cowichan Valley.
In the Juan de Fuca-Malahat provincial riding, the Mill Bay Fire Protection District will receive almost $40,000 for turnout equipment; Metchosin will also receive almost $40,000 for a hose equipment upgrade and replacement project; and Sooke will get $28,000 for hoses and racks for its volunteer and composite fire departments.
“Volunteer firefighters play a crucial role in protecting small communities, but battling blazes is backbreaking work; especially when they’re constantly breaking their equipment in the process,” said Dana Lajeunesse, MLA for Juan de Fuca-Malahat.
“This funding will upgrade equipment, providing them better protection and support to continue their essential work.”
