Fire protection and emergency response were the top issues for residents at the Rocky View County (RVC) Division 1 town hall meeting in Bragg Creek on Dec. 3.
The FireSmart program, an initiative of Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development, was created to help protect communities from wildfire threats.
Bragg Creek resident Gail Gold said her concern about a possible wild fire and the county’s plan for fire prevention and protection were the main reasons she attended the town hall.
“If fire gets in the trees we are all gone,” she said.
RVC fire chief Ken McMullen attended the meeting to update residents on the Bragg Creek FireSmart program, but homeowners were also concerned with the county’s future emergency response plans for the area.
McMullen agreed there is a need for increased fire protection in Bragg Creek and surrounding communities.
“There is a huge risk of a wild fire in the Greater Bragg Creek area and it isn’t something the County and residents can ignore,” he said.
“In Bragg Creek fire can come from any direction because the community is enveloped by trees,” he added. “We can’t predict when or where the fire will occur and that is recipe for disaster.”
McMullen said the County is hiring a new deputy fire chief and contract company to create a county-wide emergency management plan that will include fire protection for the Greater Bragg Creek area.
“We expect the first draft of the county emergency management plan to be completed by the end of summer,” he said.
Gold said she is looking forward to hearing what recommendations will be in the upcoming plan.
“Come spring concerns for fire will be up again and hopefully they will have this plan in place before then,” she said.
Rocky View Division 1 Coun. Liz Breakey said the Bragg Creek FireSmart Committee submitted their Greater Bragg Creek Wildfire Mitigation Strategy report with 27 recommendations to council last April. On July 31 she requested council accept the report as policy.
“The recommendations from the FireSmart committee are strong and will be followed up to protect the community,” Breakey added.
West Bragg Creek resident Shannon Bailey said the community needs to get involved to ensure fire prevention for the area.
“We need to make sure that people understand the FireSmart program and (comply with its recommendations) to make their homes safe,” she said.
As part of the Bragg Creek FireSmart program Rocky View county fire services inspected 140 properties in the hamlet last summer.
According to McMullen only 14 homes were in compliance with FireSmart recommendations.
“There were significant risk concerns identified in our assessment,” he said.
In case of a wild fire, West Bragg Creek residents’ only access out of the community is by a single bridge and road.
If the access road is obstructed by residents trying to leave or by fire McMullen said he is concerned fire and rescue vehicles will not be able to access the area. Bailey said she is concerned about safe evacuation if there is a wildfire.
“I have no idea where people would go on the West Bragg side,” she said.
McMullen said one of his ideas for the Greater Bragg Creek area is to locate an emergency shelter where people could be safe in the event of a wild fire.
“We may not be able to save all the properties but we can still get to the location of the fire and get people evacuated in a timely fashion,” he said.
RVC Fire Services has the ability to develop a highly adaptive and innovative long-term emergency response plan at an affordable cost said McMullen.
“All we really need is an approval from council for this new plan,” he said.
McMullen said he will continue to find innovative approaches to fight fires and save lives in Rocky View County. He stated he would like to locate a Rapid Deployment Fire Station in Bragg Creek.
“This station is not permanent and can be moved to another area as the need arises due to future growth in RVC,” he said. “We need a fire station in Bragg Creek to be able to mitigate risk and shorten our response times.”
Currently, Redwood Meadows Emergency Services (RMES) has the closest fire station to Bragg Creek, but McMullen said he has concerns with their response times.
“RMES is supplying stellar service for Rocky View County, but because they are volunteer run their travel time (from home to the station during a fire) creates some concerns,” said McMullen.
Breakey said planning a fire station in Bragg Creek will occur in the future.
“Presently we are well served by the volunteers of the Redwood Meadows Fire Station,” she said. “We are very fortunate to have them so close and they are one of the top rated firefighting groups in the province.”
