BANFF – In an effort that was part training exercise, part public outreach, Parks Canada teamed up with Town of Banff fire crews to set up and test its fire prevention sprinkler system in Banff on Tuesday (July 24).
Starting at 6 p.m., the two crews operated together, with different members of Parks Canada’s wildfire prevention teams being embedded with the Town’s firefighters to run the joint operation. The crews unrolled a network of hose and set it up behind the houses of Middle Springs in Banff, before turning the sprinkler system on. The entire setup took about
an hour.
“This is just a preparedness exercise we are holding together, just to get used to working with one another, and also to implement part of the Town’s tactical response plan. It fits into the bigger picture of how we work co-operatively with the Town on wildfire management,” said Jane Park, fire and vegetation specialist for Banff National Park.
Parks Canada establishes zones of wildfire prevention in order to better allocate resources, as well as establish priority when fighting fires outside the Town of Banff.
“It really depends, we have a large area. How Parks Canada responds to wildfires is we have zones,” said Park. “Around any infrastructure, communities, the transportation corridor, we have a full suppression zone. So any fire detected within those zones, right around Town or any of the main Bow Valley, for example, we will supress right away. That’s as fast as we can get to a helicopter that’s on duty if we are in high or extreme fire danger.
“As you go further back, you’ve got intermediate zones and then this extensive zone in the backcountry where we allow fire to play its natural role in the ecosystem. In those areas, depending on the forecast and how many resources we have, we may or may not supress the fire.”
The residents of Middle Springs also had the chance to talk to the firefighters and Parks Canada about the exercises being run in their neighbourhood. Children were encouraged to talk to the firefighters, and a group of them even went around asking for autographs. The response from residents was positive.
“I honestly think it’s fabulous just to see them out here. We saw them by our house, setting up sprinklers. Just to know that Parks Canada and the Town of Banff do have our backs, and they are doing these exercises in case something like fire comes our way, is great,” said Christine LaRochque, a resident of Middle Springs for the last five years.
The type of sprinkler system set up in Middle Springs is ideally in place at least three days in advance of any fire coming toward the town.
“Ideally, and again there’s a lot of variables, we would like to have three or four days of notice to set up perimeter sprinkling,” said Fire Chief Silvio Adamo.
The Town, in conjunction with Parks Canada, also establishes trigger points in the event of a large wildfire in order to give ample time for an emergency evacuation.
“We have trigger points that we have established in our plan, and so, in the event we had a fire moving toward town, and again Jane spoke to those trigger points, where we have three days out, and two days out, we would be issuing evacuation alerts and evacuation notices, and our plan is designed to deal with the high volumes of tourism we have,” said Adamo.
Adamo stressed the importance of the Town’s FireSmart programs as well, in conjunction with Parks Canada’s zoning strategy.
