2023 Courtenay Annual Report

Courtenay Fire Department

Record Number of Calls The Courtenay Fire Department responded to 1,455 incidents in 2023 within the City of Courtenay and Courtenay Fire Protection Districts, breaking the previous record of 1,053 fire department responses which was set last year. This total reflects an 80.5% increase in fire department responses over the last 5 years. The Fire Department responds to a wide range of incidents, including fires, motor vehicle incidents, rescues and medical emergencies. The top five incident callouts for 2023 were outdoor burning incidents, fire alarm activations, medical responses, motor vehicle incidents and incidents involving utilities such as hydro, natural gas and propane. Member Deployments The 2023 wildfire season was the most destructive in British Columbia’s recorded history, with more than 2.84 million hectares of forest and land burned. The Courtenay Fire Department helped the Province of BC fight these fires, with crews deployed throughout the Kelowna/Kamloops region. During deployments, crews extinguished hot spots in residential areas, removed fuel loads from homes that had been evacuated, scouted fire activity, and supported the BC Forest Service in their attempts to divert the fires around populated areas. Courtenay firefighters continually performed at a high level during these deployments, and the experience gained from participating in these operations is an enormous benefit to our community should we ever have a similar situation happen here. The revenue generated from this assistance is saved for future fire department capital purchases.

Fire Department Responses by Type

Wildfire fighting operations in the Kelowna/Kamloops region

City of Courtenay | 2023 Annual Report

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