How will the proposed expansion affect my property?
Fire Protection
If the fire protection expands to your area, the services that will be included are:
- structural fire protection - responding to fires impacting homes, farms and businesses;
- interface fire protection - responding to fires in the interface between the community and the forest lands. Often local fire departments will work closely with the BC Wildfire service
- fire prevention and public education: conducting reviews with businesses in the area to learn about their structures and any hazards that may exist which could impact the strategies employed during a fire response and conducting public education through open houses, classroom visits, etc.
Building Inspection
If the fire protection area expands to your area, the Electoral Area Director will recommend to the Regional Board to expand the mandatory building inspection area to match this increased fire protection boundary. In 2017, the boundaries of the mandatory building inspection area were amended to match the existing fire protection areas served by municipal fire departments. In order to support the safety of responding fire fighters and their mutual aid partners from other departments, many of the municipal fire services requested that building inspection be mandatory in the fire protection areas that they serve. This means that if you plan to build in the future, a building permit may be required depending on the size of your project and what is being built (note: farm buildings are exempt). Not all new buildings or renovations will require a permit; therefore, if the fire protection and building inspection areas are expanded, it is important to check with the PRRD to determine if a permit is required when you plan to build. Existing buildings do not require a permit if they are not undergoing any alterations.
