Times Colonist The 15 volunteer fire departments in the Cowichan Valley Regional District are getting a major funding boost from the province for new equipment and mental-health support.
The 15 volunteer fire departments in the Cowichan Valley Regional District are getting a major funding boost from the province for new equipment and mental-health support.
The CVRD will use $210,000 from the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness to create a mental health peer-support team for the more than 350 first responders and firefighters in all its departments, said Robb Schoular, the CVRD’s fire rescue services manager.
That includes a four-day critical-incident, stress-management course to help firefighters better deal with the pressures of the job.
Schoular said funding for equipment, protective clothing and training will allow CVRD volunteer fire departments to reallocate their equipment and training budgets to other critical purchases, such as replacement air tanks, breathing apparatus, radio upgrades and replacing aging turnout gear.
The CVRD got one of the largest chunks of funding from the province’s announcement this week to provide $6.2 million for 200 volunteer and composite fire departments.
Other Island department funding included:
Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District: Equipment and training, $85,354
Capital Regional District: Equipment and training, $179,439.98
Central Saanich: Structural protection unit improvement project, $30,000
Comox: Washer for cancer mitigation, $30,000
Comox Valley Regional District: Denman Island, Hornby Island, Fanny Bay, Union Bay, Oyster River, Merville, Mt. Washington, $208,750
Cortes Island Fire Fighting Association: Wildfire-response capacity building, $30,000
Cowichan Bay Improvement District: Improving structure fire response, $30,000
Cowichan Tribes: Fire-service equipment, $22,000
Cumberland: Exterior fire ground training, $30,000
Ditidaht First Nation: Nitinaht Lake Fire Department, $26,000
Duncan: Training, $30,000
Extension Volunteer Fire Department: Equipment purchases to enhance fire-response capabilities, $30,000
Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District: Inventory enhancement, 30,000
Gold River: Equipment procurement, $29,960
Lake Cowichan: Enhancing firefighting capacity, $29,488
Metchosin: Apparatus equipment update, $29,272
Nanaimo Regional District: Wildfire-response and personal-protection equipment, $119,545.48
North Cedar Improvement District: Wildland equipment purchase, $30,000
North Cowichan: Wildland personal protective equipment, $30,000
North Saanich: Volunteer personal protective equipment, $30,000
Pender Harbour Fire Protection District: Equipment and training upgrade, $25,556.13
Port Alice Fire Department: Breathing apparatus, $30,000
Port Hardy: Modular fire-training facility, $30,000
Sidney: Structure protection training, $8,000
South Quadra Island Fire Protection District: Structure protection sprinklers, $11,400
Tahsis: Training and equipment, $29,878.20
Thetis Island Improvement District: Breathing apparatus upgrades, $30,000
Ucluelet: Fire rescue turnout gear, $28,964.08
