It is not the people that live in these areas that are not intrested in the mutual aid it is the Directors, Mayor and City officals that do not want this. As for the Volunteer fire fighters that serve all the Regional District of Fraser Fort George they are having trouble getting people in the communitees that they service to come out and joint their respective fire departments and some areas are in dire need of volunteers to help the community and keep the 3B insurance rating for the fire protection area, and with out this rating the public would have to pay 2 to 3 times more for the fire insurance that they now pay. Everyone that has a volunteer fire department that serves thier area should talk to their insurance agent just to see what they will pay without fire protection. As for the fires in the city many of the workers that have been affected by these fires there are alot that live in areas protected by volunteers and are themselves volunteer fire fighters may now have to move to differant cities to find work!

"..many of the workers that have been affected by these fires .. live in areas protected by volunteers.." That may be the crunch of the situation right there.

The city fire fighters had nothing on line or at stake here and that makes things different from a safety and effort perspective. Like the differnce between a volunteer army and mercenaries in battle, if you think you are losing, give up and fight another day.

"If you think you are losing, give up and fight another day" ..............

If I was a firefighter in that situation when there was roof collapsing in front of you. and the fire behind you. The building is pretty much lost. so why throw your life away being a hero. They did not sign up to die, they signed up to save lives and buildings to the best of there ability.

I have found some of the comments about this fire incredibly insensitive. Would it have made all of you feel better if a firefighter had been killed fighting this fire. For what? To save a building. You can rebuild the mill, get another job but you can't replace a life. Did any of you think of the families of those firefighters sitting at home that night worried sick whether or not their loved one was going to make it home that night. For what? Doing their job. And did any of you think of all the chemicals and who knows what else those firefighters inhaled or absorbed through their skin trying to fight that fire? Five, ten, fifteen years down the road when our City Fire Dept. is hit with a rash of cancers, will any of you give a damn or even remember this fire after you have all moved on with your lives? If you were one of the hundred or so looky loos or did nothing more than get in the way the other night, I would be concerned with just what you inhaled. I hope the photos you got were worth it all.

I am in complete agreement with volunteer FF. This was a disaster and my heart goes out to those families effected by the fire. However this could have been an even larger disaster. Had the wind been blowing towards the bioenergy plant or Rustads. Had is maybe started a month or so later when the nights aren't so cool and started parts of the city on fire. I walked downtown the next day during a break and the amount of ash was astonding all the way up to Victoria Street. I live in a rural community outside of Prince George and rely on the volunteers fire fighters of that community to be there in time of an emergency. They are constantly training and have all the appropriate gear to fight a fire. Perhaps this is a wake up call for the Regional District and the City to have an action plan in place in case of a similar situation in the future. As although I live outside the city I do work downtown and could have easily been one of those workers out of work.

quoting gardengirl:
"And did any of you think of all the chemicals and who knows what else those firefighters inhaled or absorbed through their skin trying to fight that fire? Five, ten, fifteen years down the road when our City Fire Dept. is hit with a rash of cancers"

I am still thinking about it and I am sure there are others out there that are. I sure hope so.

It is a tragity that 300 plus have lost their job. Lets face it why did the fire start in the first place. Could it be poor management? Canfor has had another serious fire at one of their pulpmills not so long ago. Do they have thier own staff trained in fire prevention? Do they even have a safety committee?

Sounds like they feel we pay taxes and let someone else fight their fires. If we need more equipment to fight industrial fires industry needs to pay the shot.

And why were the firemen up on the roof of a wooden structure to fight a fire that appeared to be out of control? It appears we are to focused on having the right equipment but do we know how to use it.


Cheers

The ramifications of this industrial fire is like a giant octopus with several long tentacles stretching in all directions. It will effect many people of the City not just the millworkers but also the firefighters and the many people who may have been exposed to heaven knows what. Time will only tell and we will just have to wait to see what the cancer rates are like in years to come. It is a devastating blow to P.G. in all aspects, especially when it comes to health. As for the volunteer firefighters, consider youselves lucky you weren't involved. May you all live long, healthy lives.

As for the volunteer fire fighters to consider themselves lucky that we were not involved. I have been a volunteer for over 20 years and have been to all types of fires. It's only has been recently that Worksafe BC has decided that cancers may be cause for concern to all firefighters in this Province. So it does not matter if you are payed or volunteer every time we respond to a incident we put your lives on the line the only difference is that the City Fire Fighters are paid.

American firefighters are heroes. Doncha know? So why not ours? Ladder climbers with their boots on display at the supermarket. Gee. Wish I was a firefighter. Big bucks and maybe glory. And maybe get a chance to turn the siren on!

IMO a mutual aid agreement could have been useful for this fire. Those men worked non-stop. The volunteers could have provided relief for the crews. Fighting a fire is physically, mentally, and emotionally draining. It may be something that should be reconsidered. The benefits of a mutual aid agreement outweigh the naysayers IMO.

There sure are a lot of uninformed opinions out there! Oh well, this is a quasi democracy, after all. Lucky for us in this country we are free to say what we want. Just watch out for the taser operators.
metalman.

When Kelowna had their fires they all still had a job the next day. I'm sure most effected would rather have lost their house to the fire then their job, because at least the house could be rebuilt by insurance and you would still have an income.