The Rotary Club of Peachland hosted an outdoor used book sale and invited Peachland Fire & Rescue to participate and set up a FireSmart Education booth. Peachland Fire and Rescue staff brought emergency vehicles out to support the event which was apprecaited by all the kids in attendance – both young and old! FireSmart BC bookmarks were also given out to those in attendance and were a big hit.
The purpose of the booth was to share FireSmart information and materials with members of Peachland and the surrounding community. The overall goal of the event was to encourage community members to become involved with the FireSmart program and to work together to keep their homes safe from the threat of wildfire.
The event was very successful, largely in part due to the Kamloops Fire Centre loaning us their education kit. The education kit was invaluable in delivering the FireSmart message in a very professional looking manner. As a direct result of this event, the District of Peachland has scheduled home assessments for three large strata complexes with two of those bordering the wildland urban (WUI) interface in Peachland.
Peachland Fire and Rescue staff also talked to residents about their landscaping choices around their homes and handed out copies of the new FireSmart BC Guide to Landscaping. As well, there was a display set up with items from Peachland’s Structural Protection Unit trailer and there was significant interest in the WASP Home Protection Kit.
One of the challenges that was identified is how to find a way get the message out there and to get the public to understand the rewards and benefits of looking at their own houses and focusing on a “home out” approach.
The Peachland Fire & Rescue team is committed to promoting FireSmart principles in the region and they thank the Rotary Club of Peachland for the opportunity to participate at this fun event.
This FireSmart Public Education Event was held Saturday, May 29th, 2021 – 1000 – 1500.
