Fire Management
Lets talk hydrants, Fire Safety, & What Comes Next
I have heard from quite a few residents that you have concerns about fire and how your homes are protected in Rocky View County. As with most rural areas, response times can be slower and, unlike urban communities, fire hydrants are sporadic at best. While seeing them brings a sense of relief, hydrants are an indication of protection, unfortunately that is not always the case.
So let’s clear a few things up about the hydrants you see in and around Springbank. Most of these are actually part of private water co-ops — not County infrastructure. These systems have been put in place by the developer and are now operated by the owners. They are deceptive, because although they look like city hydrants they often lack the pressure required for fighting fire.
In most cases the hydrants aren’t even used for fire mitigation, they are used by private systems to flush water lines. So this generates a considerable amount of confusion, and RVC residents often assume these hydrants mean fire protection, but the truth is more complicated.
Some communities do have dry hydrants, this means that they are connected to local sloughs or ponds and that trained fire crews can pull water from these during an emergency, however, this is not a guaranteed solution for fire suppression. It’s also highly dependent on available equipment and properly trained crews, and season. These types of water features aren’t ideal in winter.
This also matters for insurance reasons too! Without access to a pressurized hydrant OR if you are outside a defined response time, you often face higher premiums. So the hydrants look reassuring, I have heard that they are actually a HUGE source of frutration for residents.
What We Need-A Fire Master Plan
A critical document, the Fire Master Plan, that outlines how RVC approaches fire safety infrastructure, personnel, equipment, and response planning has been delayed by this current council.
They are spending a lot of time debating how to fight rural fire and not focusing on actually doing it. Some feel that focusing on building more fire halls and hiring more firefighters will help solve this issue, and while the resources are important, the reality is simple:
You can have as many firefighters as you want — but if you don’t have water, you still can’t fight a fire.
Instead we need to explore what makes far more sense for many of our rural communities, and is more flexible, and cost-effective solution:
We need to equip our fire services with equipment that can draw water from local ponds or reservoirs and deploy it wherever it’s needed.
In addition the County should explore the use of Bush Buggies (small, nimble wildfire response units) and forestry fire equipment to improve rural fire response. This type of equipment is well suited for areas that have limited road access and water, or dense vegetation. Bush Buggies can be deployed rapidly and go places larger trucks can not, making them a critical piece of a modern rural fire strategy. T
This is the kind of recommendation that the Fire Master Plan can help implement. But we need that plan in place before we can get to the business of acquiring the right equipment and training our crews to use it effectively.
If Elected: Let’s Get Real About Fire Safety
One fo my first priorites, if elected, will be to get the Fire Master Plan approved. Stop spinning our wheels and start finding real solutions for fire mitigation.
We need to stop relying on outdated infrastructure and assumptions. It’s time to explore what works for rural communities, not what looks good on paper.
By investing in the right equipment, like proper trucks, improved drafting access, and by formalizing better strategies for areas without pressurized hydrants, we can:
Improve fire response capability
Potentially reduce insurance premiums
Make our communities safer — without wasting tax dollars
Let’s stop pretending those unpressurized hydrants are doing the job. The waiting needs to end, and lets build a fire response system that actually works for our rural communities.
