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Provincial Deployments

Last updated on August 13, 2024

Provincial deployments for structure protection and defense in wildland-urban environments are requested and overseen by the Structure Protection Coordination Officer (SPCO) at the Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre (PWCC).

Deployments

Before any deployments, it's crucial to review the inter-agency agreement and ensure that you, your team and equipment meet the minimum requirements. 

If you are registered in our program, it is important to ensure that your equipment and crews are ready for deployment at a moment's notice during fire season (April to October). Please note that fires located within a fire department's jurisdiction are the responsibility of that local government under normal operation. Costs for additional resources or personnel beyond the minimum requirements will not be covered. Below is detailed information on the deployment process, expectations, and requirements for you, your crews, and your equipment on the fire.

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Getting Deployed

If your department is requested you will receive communications from the Structure Protection Coordination Officer (SPCO) confirming your deployment availability. You will normally be given 30 minutes to 24 hours to respond depending on the severity of the incident occurring.

If your team or equipment is available, your contact will receive a Structure Protection Drawdown Form. This form will outline details such as staging areas, site contact details, date or requirement and type of resource being deployed. It is important that you bring along a copy of this with you to check in with plans upon arrival at the incident. Some incidents will not have a plans section and alternative check-in instructions will be located on this document. Please note, do not send extra personnel or apparatus unless specifically requested by the SPCO or BCWS representative. These extra personnel or apparatus will not be compensated and directed to return home at your own cost. 

When you arrive and sign in at your check-in location, you or your equipment will be given your assignment

 

Once Deployed

A crew leader will fill out the following documentation daily:

  • A Daily Time Report for each day, including travel days. These are from a DTR book that can be obtained from your local fire centre or contact your Structure Protection Specialist. 
  • Daily log sheet (ICS 214) outlining all of your daily activities. This can be obtained from your Structure Protection Specialist on deployment or contact SPCO@gov.bc.ca pre-deployment for the form.

It is important to remember that your DTR's need to be signed off by your Structure Protection Specialist or provincial representative daily. Your log sheets will need to be submitted to plans daily upon completion. 

 

Deployment Length

Deployment periods for emergency events requiring provincial resourcing of apparatus and personnel will be for a maximum of 14 days (including travel days). See the inter-agency agreement for further details on crew rotation policies.

 

Post Deployment

Upon returning home from deployment, promptly process invoices, store equipment, and submit any reports on missing or damaged items. For detailed instructions on post-deployment procedures, please refer below.

Reimbursement rates for all deployed apparatus are specified in the inter-agency agreement. Your fire department or finance department should submit an invoice with supporting documentation, including Daily Time Reports, Structure Protection Drawdown forms, and, if applicable, hotel and travel receipts, to the appropriate Fire Centre email address listed in your drawdown.

 

Missing or Damaged Equipment

Missing or damaged equipment must be reported to a BCWS representative before demobilization from an incident. At the wildfire season's end, BCWS Fire Services will work to return missing equipment. Once Fire Services has concluded this process, authorization will be provided to submit a missing or damaged claim to SPCO@gov.bc.ca and include what is damaged or missing and a quote of the cost to replace or repair. Once the claim has been approved, you will receive further instructions on how to process. At the end of the season, you may have collected equipment that does not belong to your company or department. You can email SPCO@gov.bc.ca to let them know what you have, and they will send further instructions on how to proceed. 

Information on damage reimbursement rates can be found in the inter-agency agreement.