FireSmart Program - Protection Island

 

The P.I. Firesmart Board is an official entity reporting to the City of Nanaimo Fire Department, Assistant Fire Chief responsible for Nanaimo's  Firesmart programs. P.I. Firesmart is supported by Nanaimo Parks, Nanaimo Fire Department, PI Lions, PINA, DIGS and most importantly by the volunteer efforts of islanders.

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The Protection Island FireSmart Program is in accordance with the current knowledge of Fire Preparedness and
Prevention techniques and strategies. It is intended to offer strategies to safeguard our community and provide resiliency from a fire event.

 

The Protection Island FireSmart Board is supported by Nanaimo Fire Rescue. The intent of the plan is threefold:

• To promote awareness of residents to potential dangers of fire and offer solutions to mitigate impacts and create resiliency

• To develop an action plan to address current situations that lessens our ability to manage fire on Protection Island and increase our resiliency to fire

• To be recognized as a FireSmart Canada Community

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The main purpose of Firesmart is to apply principles of fuel management to our residences and all island parks to improve our resiliency to wildfire.

 

Community support has been outstanding and P.I Firesmart has been recognised for our work four years running. In 2023 we tallied over 3500 volunteer hours. 2024 is the fifth anniversary of our Firesmart program.

 

The P.I Firesmart Board is:

• Anne Ferdinands

• Wendy Chandler

• Neil Goldsmith  250-755-1620

• Rick Biller 250-740-1156

• Peter Rombough 250-716-8723

 

The Firesmart program hosts two annual Firesmart events, one the third weekend in April and the second, the third weekend in November, which coincides with the islands’ Burning Month.

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Firesmart does all our planning and work in consultation with the City, P.I Community Groups and islanders. We have many knowledgeable professionals on the island that provide input and advice on our plans.

 

Volunteerism is the cornerstone of our program. Our budget is directly dependent on the participation of islanders to improve fire resiliency. Neil Goldsmith is our tracker of hours

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It is important to note, that due to insurance and liability concerns, residents are not permitted to operate chainsaws or take wood from our parks.

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