Suffield makes changes to firefighting, looks to improve communication after detonation causes September 2017 blaze

By Jeremy Appel on July 24, 2018.

jappel@medicinehatnews.com @MHNJeremyAppel

CFB Suffield is working to improve its communication with neighbouring communities, as well as its firefighting capabilities, according to a letter sent to the News.

The changes are a result of a September 2017 fire caused by the detonation of an unexploded artillery shell.

The fire spread north and east of the base, causing significant damage to grazing land, livestock and other property.

“Numerous fires occur on the base every month, as a result of live-fire military training, unexploded bomb detonation or natural occurrences,” stated the letter, signed by base commander Lt.-Col. Mike Onieu.

The base plans on using social media to provide information about activities that may cause concern among locals, but don’t pose an immediate threat.

Previously, CFB Suffield put out general notices when there were military training exercises, but the social media posts are intended to be more specific.

For more urgent matters, the base is adopting a cellphone notification system, which will supplement, rather than replace, municipal governments’ emergency notification systems.

Suffield has also taken six steps since the September blaze to improve its firefighting capacity:

— Enhanced equipment and training for soldiers responsible for grassland firefighting;

— Improved communication and co-ordination between Suffield’s fire department and local firefighting forces;

— Easier access for local fire departments, so they can arrive at the base more quickly;

— Changes to how the base categorizes fires and the level of approval needed for higher risk activities;

— Decreasing the number of occasions of detonating unexploded ordinances in adverse weather conditions

— Opening up new fire breaks, which are strips of open terrain with the purpose of slowing or stopping the progression of a fire.

The latter is singled out as the base’s “highest priority” of the six changes.

The Department of National Defence has received 15 insurance claims resulting from the fire, of which two have been finalized and seven have received interim payments while their claims are examined.

“We are endeavouring to be better neighbours through communication and demonstrable improvements in the way we operate,” the letter said.

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