Nominate for the award

Nominations for individuals will be judged on the following criteria:

• The extent to which the nominee demonstrates excellence in wildland firefighting.
• The degree to which the nominee reflects the BC Wildland Firefighter Awards values: Safety, Leadership, Courage, Respect, Passion, Integrity, Teamwork & Collaboration
• The efforts the nominee has made to build wildfire resiliency and reduce the negative impacts of fire for everyone in the province.

Each recipient will receive a personalized award plus a $1000 grant towards furthering wildfire resiliency efforts. Individuals will be notified of their nomination in advance and encouraged to attend the WRTS. Event registration and travel expenses will be covered for the four award recipients plus one guest each.

Four awards will be given out in total, which recognize both long-standing and early-career firefighters:

• Vanguard Award (early career firefighter: ten years or less)
• Guardian Award (long-standing firefighter: more than ten years)

Nominations will be reviewed by a working group made up of representatives from FireSmart BC, the First Nations’ Emergency Services Society (FNESS), and BC Wildfire Service. Nominations will be open from Nov. 17, 2025 – Feb.13, 2026 for the 2026 awards. 2026 recipients will be announced and recognized at a special ceremony during the Wildfire Resiliency & Training Summit in Victoria, BC.

To make the nomination process more accessible, the selection committee will accept nomination responses in paragraph or bullet point format (max 300 words per question). When using either format, please give detailed, descriptive examples. If you encounter any issues preparing your nomination, please email education@firesmartbc.ca and we can appoint a non-working group member to assist you with your nomination.