By Barb Brouwer
Contributor
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District is adding a new trucks to its protective services fleet.
At its May 16 meeting held in Golden, the CSRD board unanimously approved the purchase of a 2024 Chevrolet 2500 Silverado Crew Cab for use by the Shuswap Emergency Program’s structure protection team.
CSRD fire department command vehicles are used to tow structure protection units (SPU) for wildfire response when deployed provincially at the request of the Office of the Fire Commissioner and BC Wildfire Service, wrote CSRD protective services manager and Fire Chief Sean Coubrough in his report to the board.
When not deployed provincially, a variety of vehicles are used to tow the trailers, including personal vehicles, CSRD fleet vehicles and fire department command vehicles when available.
“This new vehicle is intended to provide a year-round towing option for our SPU trailers locally and while on provincial deployment, while providing an additional response vehicle for Fire Services District Command staff when not in use by the SPU program,” wrote Coubrough, noting both he and Deputy Regional Fire Chief Len Youden will now have command vehicles in which to respond to major events and wildfire calls.
“The idea behind this truck is so we are not having to take as many trucks away from our fire departments, he said, noting that in responding to requests from the province, the regional district deploys one SPU trailer and four personnel, which requires two trucks. “All of the 13 CSRD fire departments are going to have command vehicles by the end of the year, so we have made sure all the command trucks have met the requirement to make sure they can tow the trailers.”
The Shuswap Emergency Program currently manages a fleet of four structure protection trailers for wildfire response. Consisting of sprinklers, pumps, hoses and fittings, each SPU can protect between 25 to 35 structures, creating a zone of humidity that lessens the likelihood of fire reaching a structure. One SPU unit is kept in the Columbia area to service Golden and Electoral Area A, and Revelstoke and Electoral Area B.
A second unit is used to protect the Shuswap and the other two are stored in Salmon Arm and deployed as needed.
The board voted unanimously in favour of purchasing the $80,832 (before taxes) 2024 Chevrolet Silverado Crew Cab Long Box from Bannister GM Salmon Arm.
Staff received three written quotes and this model is the lowest bid that meets the fire department’s preferred specification, said Coubrough, adding the truck won’t be available in time for the upcoming wildfire season.
Read more: Wildfire efforts highlighted in Columbia Shuswap Regional District report
Read more: Shuswap firefighter committed to supporting others while battling cancer
