New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service won’t be dousing flames and heading back to the hall after major fires.
Following an apartment fire on Ash Street on Aug. 29 and a fire in commercial buildings on Columbia Street on Oct. 10, the fire department set up the city’s mobile command unit for several days following the fires.
“We used the mobile command unit, not only for command operations but for community outreach,” Fire Chief Tim Armstrong said about the Columbia Street fire. “We dealt with the business owners, we dealt with customers of the businesses. I think a lot of people were in shock the first day. After the weekend, it sunk in.”
Armstrong said he’s been encouraging his staff and the city to recognize that the department has a role to play after the flames have been extinguished.
“We are more than just putting the fire out. We are there after the fact, we are the emergency management office to support the community and give some leadership and direction on how to recover,” he said. “Any kind of a major fire, we are going to continue to have a presence on scene. They come back and they need some answers. Even if they don’t necessarily like the answers they are getting, they still need support and direction.”
In 2012, New Westminster city council moved responsibility of emergency management from the city administrator’s office to the fire.
“That is something I have implemented, now that emergency management is under fire,” Armstrong said of the changes. “I have been saying we are risk mitigators first through our fire prevention efforts and things like that, but when we do have an emergency response, then we are also there to support the recovery efforts to the community and people.”
