Ocean Falls on B.C.’s Central Coast may have the highest number of firefighters per capita.
There are 51 people living in the community and 17 of them have signed up for the volunteer fire department.
Recently the department received a $10,000 grant from the Community Engagement Preparedness Fund (CEPF) administered through the Union of B.C. Municipalities.
“We have a newer fire chief and we reached out to the funding opportunity so we can do exterior firefighter training,” said Amber Minich, who moved to Ocean Falls four years ago to retire but was recruited to work as the district’s corporate officer.
A trainer will be coming into Ocean Falls in the spring and the 17 residents who have signed up for the fire department will be taking the training.
Minich said there are five board members on the Ocean Falls Improvement District who are trying to be as proactive as they can to update things.
“The fire department I’ve been working on for a couple of years. We are going to start with training and have applied for another grant to update the building because things are aging and we just need a little support with funding.”
Most of the fire department’s equipment was donated and came from other residents who were from the U.S. and were in fire departments there.
“We have turnout kits so everyone has gear - they have boots, jackets and helmets.”
Their fire truck is from 1980 which they also hope to update, she explained.
“It’s a work in progress and the community is really supportive. There are people [in the department] of all different ages so it’s been pretty great.”
Being a remote improvement district, Minich said they deal with fire, water, sewer, parks and recreation, protective services, public works which is the cemetery, streetlights, ferry ramp, roads, storm drains and garbage disposal.
“We are just a little bit of a different beast here than most improvement districts. There is only so much money to go around so we have to pick certain things. For me this year it is the fire department.”
Efforts are also underway to have an Ocean Falls Society to get a community hall, a community sustainability garden, and improve the cemetery she said.
“We live so rural that we need to make sure that we can take care of ourselves and residents,” she said, adding there are nine children in the community. “There were 23 people here when I moved here. There are a lot of people supporting us.”
Thinking of ways to fundraise for the town is top of mind.
In the past Minich owned some heritage homes she would Airbnb out, something she is too busy to do now in Ocean Falls.
However, she fixed up apartments above the courthouse to Airbnb and the town receives the profit from the rentals.
The UBCM CEPF funds projects that support First Nations and local governments to better prepare for disasters and reduce risks from natural hazards in a changing climate, noted a government news release about the funding.
Volunteer and composite fire departments, local governments and First Nations throughout British Columbia will receive more than $6.2 million from the CEPF.
Ocean Falls is 480 km north of Vancouver and 88 km west of Bella Coola, and is within the traditional area of the Heiltsuk.
In the early 1900s, a pulp and paper mill was built there, but by 1973 the mill was taken over by the province as was the community’s school, courthouse, hotel and other buildings.
By 1980, the province closed the mill, demolished it and many other structures.
Request for proposals
Recently the Central Coast Regional District put out a request for proposals for qualified consultants to provide an analysis of derelict buildings in Ocean Falls and options for correction.
Proposals clearly marked “Request for Proposals – Derelict Building Analysis Consultation Services for the Community of Ocean Falls” will be accepted until 4 p.m. on Feb. 12, 2024 by hard copy or electronic submission to cedo@ccrd.ca. Proposal documents and further information are available online at the BC Bid at https://www.bcbid.gov.bc.ca.
Anyone with questions is asked to contact the economic development officer at cedo@ccrd.ca
READ MORE: Cariboo Regional District establishes regional fire chief position
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