A firefighting trailer, whose prototype was originally used in Australia but is now being built in Steveston, will help eight First Nations in B.C. battle wildfires — thanks to the Rotary Club of Richmond Sunset.
Two years after the Siska First Nation and the local Rotary brainstormed on how to get better equipment to fight wildfires – that now seem to be an almost annual occurrence – the prototype “Phoenix” has been built and will be delivered to the First Nation in the Fraser Canyon.
A ribbon-cutting ceremony was held last Thursday at the boat launch at the bottom of No. 2 Road in Steveston.
Bob Blacker with Sunset Rotary said this firefighting equipment is the product of what the Rotary can accomplish.
"Welcome to the world of Rotary and what Rotary can do," Blacker told the crowd of about 50 gathered at the launch.
During the 2023 fires in the Fraser Canyon, former Lytton fire chief Jason Phillips reached out to Blacker saying he needed firefighting equipment to fight spot fires.
The Siska First Nation and Sunset Rotary already had a strong bond – Sunset had previously supplied them with PPE during the pandemic and worked with them on the Write to Read program.
Blacker's brother, Warwick, is the senior deputy captain of the St. Albans Bush Fire Brigade, two hours northeast of Sydney, Australia.
When Blacker told his brother about needing some firefighting equipment, he learned about the trailers that were used in St. Albans by community members to put out spot fires before the fire department showed up during the devastating fires of 2019/20.
But Blacker wasn't able to find any similar trailers being built in Canada nor in the U.S., so he started asking around locally.
He went to SGM Custom Design and Fabrication, located just off No. 2 Road in Steveston, and worked with their designer and builder to create the first firefighting trailer.
The trailer includes a 2,000-litre water tank and a high-capacity pump, fire hoses including an intake hose to draw water from sources such as rivers and lakes, and an electric generator and emergency lights.
The heavy-duty frame makes it suitable for off-road conditions and it has hooks so it can be moved by helicopter.
Phillips said he’s “beyond grateful” to Sunset Rotary for the firefighting trailer.
Given Siska's more remote location, this will allow locals to fight spot fires immediately when they spring up if BC Wildfire or the local fire department can't come immediately.
"This is going to eliminate wait time and burn time in our area," Phillips told the Richmond News.
Three more trailers will be given to First Nations in the Fraser Canyon, Lytton, Skuppah and Kanaka Bar, and four more will later go to First Nations in the Chilcotin area.
When the four are ready to be delivered to Chilcotin, Phillips will pass on his knowledge to local First Nations on how to use the equipment, but he'll also draw on their local knowledge on firefighting, he said.
Rotary spinoff funds trailers
The money for the trailers came from Disaster Aid Canada, a Rotary offshoot that normally responds to disasters, said the non-profit’s president Frank Elsom.
This is the first emergency preparedness project they’ve worked on – rather than their usual work of responding to disasters both locally and internationally.
Disaster Aid Canada, is based in Ladysmith on Vancouver Island and just celebrated 20 years of giving disaster aid.
They gave $365,000 to the firefighting trailer project.
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