New fire risk reduction dashboard aims to reduce fire incidents, injuries

A new partnership has been formed to help B.C. Fire Services prevent fires, reduce injuries and save lives.

The province has partnered with Statistics Canada to create a Community Fire Risk Reduction Dashboard that will provide statistical and geographical information to help identify areas in communities at greatest risk of home fires.

The information will be used to provide safety information to the most vulnerable areas, helping protect residents and firefighters while reducing the social and financial impacts resulting from those fires.

“Since 2020, we have seen a concerning trend of rising fire deaths across B.C. and the rest of Canada. We need to do more to keep people and first responders safe by preventing these fires from happening,” said Brian Godlonton, B.C.’s fire commissioner.

“The new dashboard identifies the areas most at risk of fires, so we know where to focus our fire prevention and safety programs. These advancements will not only prevent fires but, more importantly, prevent injuries and save lives.”

B.C. fire statistics in 2021. (Image credit: Office of the Fire Commissioner/Annual report 2021)

The Office of the Fire Commission’s annual report stated that, over the last two reporting years, there has been a 119 per cent increase in fire-related deaths around B.C. It noted that in 2021, there were 59 fire-related deaths and 180 fire injuries, with people over the age of 65 over-represented in fire deaths.

It also stated that only 42 per cent of reported residential structure fires had working smoke alarms.

“I’m deeply concerned about the growing number of fire-related deaths in our province. We are working on tackling this problem, and the new Community Fire Risk Reduction Dashboard will be extremely important to helping us prevent fires and save lives,” said Mike Farnworth, Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General.

“I’m urging everyone to test their smoke alarms at least every six months to keep you and your family safe. Prevention is a key part of this, because fewer fires means healthier first responders and a safer province.”

Pilots of the dashboard are being launched in Coquitlam, Surrey and Port Alberni this July. The program will be rolled out across the rest of the province in early 2023.

“We are pleased to collaborate with the British Columbia Office of the Fire Commissioner, leveraging data to save lives,” said Anil Arora, chief statistician of Canada, Statistics Canada.

“Through the expansion of these types of tools, the integration of other types of data and working with other communities, we can use the power of data to bring even greater value to all Canadians.”