LFR Expectations Document

I grew up in Kelowna, which is one of the most fire-prone ecosystems in BC. 

In 2003 I witnessed first-hand the destruction of the Okanagan Mountain Park Wildfire and spent weeks evacuated from our family home. Not long after that, I applied to become a wildland firefighter which I thoroughly enjoyed for the next ten years. 

I then decided to pursue a full-time career in BC Wildfire as a Wildfire Prevention Specialist in Smithers, where I still work and play today. 

FireSmart is a big part of my everyday role, working to protect communities and reduce the risk of serious wildfire in our region.

Scott Rogers is the FireSmart Supervisor for the Resort Municipality of Whistler and has been dedicated to developing and delivering the FireSmart program in Whistler since 2016. 

In this time, the FireSmart program has expanded to include additional staff with dedicated equipment who deliver a seasonal FireSmart Community Chipper Service, support FireSmart ​neighbourhood projects with homeowners, treat municipal forest understory, and lead a FireSmart "Adopt-a-trail" campaign. ​ 

Regular public education, about current wildfire realities and FireSmart solutions, is delivered while conducting assessments, through online media, in schools and forums.

Scott works internally to support the permit approvals process with Planning and Environmental Stewardship when FireSmart is a consideration for landscape and building modifications (wildfire mitigation now integrated as part of the OCP in wildfire development permit area) 

Scott has over a decade of service as POC structural firefighter with Whistler Fire Rescue Service (FFII, Fire Service Instructor, Fire and Life Safety Educator, SPP-WFF 1), has a background in project management, landscaping, construction, is a certified arborist and wildlife danger tree assessor. 

Focused on community service and building involvement in programs, Scott was a "Big Brother" for two years and founded a non-profit society community volleyball program that annually hosts 300 players over 60 teams and provides scholarships to high school students (http://www.wova.ca). ​

Scott leads the successful pursuit for Whistler's FireSmart Community Protection Achievement Certificate for outstanding FireSmart work in 2018 and has helped facilitate 8 Whistler neighbourhoods to receive FireSmart Canada Neighbourhood Recognition Status. 

Originally from Northern Alberta, Rob Barnett worked as a wildland firefighter for the past 13 years. He graduated with a Forest Technology Diploma from Northern Alberta Institute of Technology in 2010. After Graduation, Rob received a full-time position as a Wildfire Ranger in his home town of Fort McMurray and recently transferring to BC Wildfire Service in June 2020 as a Wildfire Technician in the 100 Mile House Fire Zone.  

For the past six years, Rob has specialized in Wildfire Prevention. Focusing on public outreach education in local schools and communities to promote a culture shift on public perception towards healthy resilient and sustainable ecosystems. Coordinating and supervising fuel management projects around remote northern communities for wildfire risk reduction in conjunction with residents.  Since the 2016 Fort McMurray Wildfire Rob has worked with community rehabilitation and resilience initiatives to promote a broader level of landscape management utilizing prescribed fire and preparedness planning with local and provincial government jurisdictions.

Currently focusing on innovative processes to reduce human-caused wildfires through historical data collection and risk analysis for future predictions and risk mitigation. Rob is excited to expand on his knowledge and skills to meet the increasing challenges unique to BC and its residents, specifically in the Cariboo region.

Marc Simpson works in Squamish as a Wildfire Technician for the British Columbia Wildfire Service. After 25 wildfire seasons, Marc has experience in almost all areas of wildfire preparedness, prevention and response. 

When not deployed to fires, his work is focused on local prevention initiatives including FireSmart, fuels management projects, fire behaviour forecasting, and wildfire cause investigations. Having been on the ground during multiple interface fire events, Marc has first-hand knowledge to share about the challenges and solutions to protect homes and properties from wildfire effects.

Jonas Joe started his wildfire career as a crew member with the British Columbia Wildfire Service (BCWS) in the year 2000. He then studied forestry at British Columbia Institute of Technology (BCIT) and graduated in 2008 as a Forest Technologist. He completed his articling period and passed the written exam to become registered with the Association of BC Forest Professionals (ABCFP) as a Registered Forest Technologist (RFT) in 2011. He started his scope of practice in wildfire prevention with a non profit organization called First Nation Emergency Services Society of BC (FNESS). He became a Local Fire Smart Representative (LFR) in 2013. 

Since then Jonas traveled the province assisting First Nation communities build their FireSmart Programs to become nationally recognized as a FireSmart community. He recognized through the programs FNESS offers the importance of Fire Prevention in First Nation communities. He is now currently working in Merritt, BC as a Wildfire Tech and continues to advocate the importance of FireSmart in his region.  

Bruce Green has been a member with Oyster River Fire Rescue on Vancouver Island since 1988 and the department’s fire chief since 2015. He is currently the Zone 1 Director for the Fire Chiefs Association of B.C. 

Bruce has completed certification in the Fire Officer program, the Emergency Management program and the Fire Prevention Officer program from the Justice Institute of B.C.

He was among a crew of firefighters deployed to Kelowna in 2003 to help battle the Okanagan Mountain wildfire with residential structural protection and part of another deployment to the 150 Mile House wildfire in 2017 where he worked in that area’s fire command centre.

Bruce is the Local FireSmart Representative for his fire protection area and recently worked with a neighbourhood group in his area that has just been recognized by FireSmart Canada as the first North Island FireSmart Community.

Bruce is a firm believer that presenting the FireSmart program to organizations, providing information to residents, being available to answer questions, and assisting communities with the steps to make their homes and neighbourhoods FireSmart will prevent future structural loss from a wildfire event.

Amanda Reynolds works as a Fire Smart Education Officer for the BC Wildfire Service. Prior to joining BCWS, Amanda was a high school teacher in Vancouver. Amanda has been with BCWS for 5 years, one of her early roles was a Communications Specialist. In her Communications role she spent a significant amount of time interacting with the public, particularly during the 2017/2018 fire seasons. During those seasons, Amanda noticed a common thread in her conversations with the public: they wanted to help and do whatever was needed to make sure their families, homes and communities were resilient to the threat of wildfire. After the 2018 fire season Amanda went to Fort McMurray to attend a FireSmart Conference, her first big exposure to the world of prevention and FireSmart. 

Following that exposure, Amanda expressed interest in developing a FireSmart education kit for K-12, which was completed in April of 2019. Ultimately though Amanda’s time with BCWS and her background in education, she has realized her passion lies within public education, prevention of wildfire and building resilient communities. Amanda is excited to share her passion and knowledge with workshop participants to help foster and grow the FireSmart message across BC and ultimately Canada.