A group of homeowners asking for the expansion of West Howe Sound Fire Protection District, served by the Gibsons and District Volunteer Fire Department (GDVFD), will need to wait at least until 2026 for further regional district investigation; they are hoping to do some groundwork in the meantime.
At a Nov. 14 committee of whole meeting, community lead for the group Tim Rockford, said the area is “kind of an anomaly within the SCRD.”
“It's an area of moderate population, but it does not currently have formal fire protection,” he said.
The SCRD received an initial petition to expand the fire protection service boundary to include 69 properties northward along the Port Mellon Highway a year ago, according to a staff report. The area is adjacent to the Langdale ferry terminal and includes Camp Elphinstone, Williamson Landing, Langdale Heights RV Park, as well as areas directly adjacent to the Gibsons town boundary.
While the Gibsons fire chief did a preliminary review for a boundary expansion, he determined it could not proceed under existing resourcing and service levels. Fire chief Rob Michael cited challenges with maintaining service levels within the existing boundary, noting a call volume that’s nearly doubled in the past decade, as well as the increased training requirements placed on the volunteer base.
So, an expansion study is required before a formal petition to extend the fire protection area can be submitted. The petition would need signatures from owners of at least 50 per cent of the parcels liable to pay for the proposed service and represent at least 50 per cent of the assessed value of land, said the report.
“That initial feasibility assessment needs to really be fully completed in a formal way, so that way we can make an informed choice of what is really required in terms of any capability additions and so forth, so that the fire department could serve our area effectively,” Rockford told the committee. The estimate for the study is $35,000.
“The community members in this area are very concerned about not having fire protection and are willing to contribute to the cost of completing the study,” Rockford said at the meeting.
“Also if there are capability requirements that need to be added or augmented to the Gibsons fire department through tax levies and so forth that would be targeted to…properties in this area that would be included in that expanded fire protection area…we understand that those costs would and should be born primarily by those properties and property owners that benefit.”
Rockford said he’s a long-time property owner in the area and is also the developer for Elphinstone Crossing Estates, but intends to retain “significant lots” within the development for his and for his kids’ long-term family residences.
Tim’s son, Colten Rockford, said he’d been working with his father on the land development since he was 12 or 13. “I've fallen in love with the area over time,” he said. “If we allow for fire protection around there, it will help people, all the people living there already, to not have to worry about fire protection on their own, especially with increased risk of wildfires over the last few years.”
In response to a question from Area F director Kate Stamford, Rockford said there will ultimately be 21 properties within his development. He said they’ve tried to implement FireSmart principles, including “clearing and moving back the forest line appropriately, while also still trying to respect nature.” Rockford said he has his own fire pump and there have been some ponds created.
“Property owners can only do so much,” he said. “When we talk about really trying to provide formal fire services, we need to work with the greater body, in this case, the SCRD and the local fire department.”
Back in October, the Gibsons and District Fire Protection Commission recommended that cost-sharing opportunities related to a study to inform a formal petition process be explored, with results to be reported to the SCRD annual budget process.
The SCRD’s Finance Committee later recommended that the expansion feasibility project be deferred to 2027, a decision directors revisited Nov. 14 at the urging of West Howe Sound area director Kate Stamford.
Elphinstone director Donna McMahon held fast on the deferral. “I do think that a feasibility study needs to be done. I just don't think now is the moment. I think we need to get the OCPs done and the fire flow plan done before we delve into the possibility of a fire district boundary expansion.”
Gibsons Mayor Silas White asked for directors to stick to deferring the boundary expansion. “We have a lot of pressures, financial pressures, and at all our fire services right now, and we really need to focus on those,” he said.
A compromise was reached to defer the matter to 2026 instead of 2027. Also under way is a review of volunteer firefighters’ compensation model.
“This is one of the few issues that community is fully in support of, and they would like to see this considered as soon as possible,” said Stamford.
In a later interview, Rockford said in the meantime they’re going to work with SCRD staff and GDVFD to try to select a qualified fire protection expert to bring in as a consultant to conduct a formal fire protection feasibility assessment. They hope to do this in early to mid 2025, “So that way that information can be brought into the analysis and discussion of what it will truly take to provide fire protection services to this area.”
The committee supported asking staff to report back on alternatives providing fire protection service outside of established fire protection areas.
