Fire incident reporting
Last updated on January 7, 2025
All fires that have caused damage to property, injuries or fatalities or that required fire department resources to suppress must be reported to the Office of the Fire Commissioner.
Reporting a fire
Record fire incident information into the Fire Inventory Reporting Evaluation System (FIRES).
Fire service personnel requiring access to the FIRE system should fill out the FIRE system access application form (PDF, 237 KB) and submit it to ofc@gov.bc.ca.
​Reporting guidelines and forms
Learn about what types of fires need to be reported, and find forms, the fire reporting manual and definitions used in fire reporting.
Fire Reporting Remuneration
The Fire Services Act was repealed on July 31, 2024, and the Fire Safety Act came into force on August 1, 2024. The Fire Safety Act does not provide for remunerations for fire reporting. Only fires reported to the Office of the Fire Commissioner between January 1, 2024, and July 31, 2024, are eligible for reimbursement.
To submit a remuneration request, please use the Fire Reporting Remuneration Form (PDF, 854 KB).
Please submit completed forms no later than February 28, 2025. We will be unable process submissions after that date as the fiscal year will be closed.
Forms can be submitted by email or mail:
Email:
OFC@gov.bc.ca
Mail:
Office of the Fire Commissioner
PO Box 9201 Stn Prov Govt
Victoria, BC, V8W 9J1
Benefits of reporting fires
Legislation requires all fires that cause damage to property, injuries or fatalities, or require fire department resources to suppress must be reported. In addition to meeting the legislated requirement, there are additional benefits such as:
- Providing data for the annual fire loss report
- Information in the reports informs fire prevention activities
- Developing public education materials and programs
- Researching trends
- Identifying emerging risks
- Updating legislation, regulations, and codes
Statistical reports
Fire reporting data is used by different organizations and government agencies for policy development, planning and research purposes. The more complete the fire reporting data is, the more useful it is.
Quarterly reports
2024
2023