With so many wildfires burning around them, the Clinton Volunteer Fire Department members stayed close to home this summer.
Deputy Chief and training officer Karl Hansen says that while they did offer their services if needed to fight fires close by, they didn’t want to stray far from the community, preferring to be on standby in case the village was suddenly threatened. Some of the wildfires of note burning nearby this past summer included those in Pavilion, Churn Creek, Flat Lake, and the Chasm.
“We actually didn’t do a whole bunch out of our area this year,” Hansen says. “We weren’t really comfortable heading out anywhere far from here. Clinton is our priority, especially with other fires close by. We didn’t want to leave our town short.”
The 17-member department, funded by the Village of Clinton, bolstered its ranks over the past year, following a recruitment drive in 2020. All members have since been trained up for fighting wildfires, and Hansen says they hope to do more structure protection and interface training, likely in the spring.
“It’s something you have to be prepared for nowawdays,” he says.
Hansen adds that the Clinton department has a good working relationship with BC Wildfire Service, which helped with some fuel management around town earlier this spring, as well as in the past. The Clinton fire department mostly deals with road rescue, which makes up the bulk of its calls.
The fire hall, at 309 Lebourdais Avenue, was constructed in 2006 and is equipped with one Highway Rescue truck and two pumper trucks. Practices are every Monday evening at 7 p.m., and new volunteer members are always welcome. Anyone who is interested can email cvfd@village.clinton.bc.ca.
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