Media Contacts

Jen Holmwood

Press Secretary
Deputy Communications Director
Office of the Premier
Jen.Holmwood@gov.bc.ca
250 818-4881

Fire Information Officer

BC Wildfire Service
Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre
250 312-3051

Backgrounders

Roles of B.C. personnel being deployed in Oregon

Initial attack crew:

  • Initial attack firefighters operate as part of a three-person crew and are usually the first on scene of a new wildfire.
  • Once there, the initial attack crew works quickly to set up water pumps, remove fuel from the fire’s path and dig fireguards to help control or extinguish the blaze.

Unit crew:

  • A 20-person sustained-action “unit crew” typically works on large fires and can remain self-sufficient in the field for up to 72 hours at a time.
  • Crew members receive extensive training and are knowledgeable about wildfire behaviour, fire management tactics and fireline equipment use.

Agency representative:

  • The agency representative acts as link between deployed crews and the BC Wildfire Service.

Manager representative:

  • A manager representative is the contact for personnel assigned to the incident and is there to help staff in a managerial role with regular human resource support.

Division supervisor:

  • This role is responsible for the implementation of the assigned portion of the incident action plan, assignment of resources within the division/group, reporting on the progress of control operations, and status of resources within the division or group.
  • This role provides critical supervision and is accountable (safety and administratively) to their assigned resources, while applying fire suppression tactics that relate to strategies that will meet the incident objectives. 

Task force leader:

  • This role is responsible for performing tactical assignments assigned to a strike team or a task force.
  • This role reports work progress, resource status and other important information to a division supervisor.
  • The task force leader also maintains work records on assigned personnel.