2024 Surrey Fire Service Annual Report

Prevention Branch Surrey Fire Services Prevention Branch identifies, prioritizes, and actions community risks with the goal of reducing the incidence of injury, loss of life, and property damage due to fire. J The primary role of the Fire Prevention Branch is to perform fire and life safety inspections, investigate fire cause and origin, and review plans associated with building development and fire safety. J A team of ten Fire Prevention Officers conduct fire and life safety inspections systematically and employ a risk-based approach. These efforts ensure compliance with BC Fire Code for commercial, industrial, public assembly buildings, and multi-residential occupancies. These inspections are driven by the overarching goal of enhancing fire code adherence within our community and elevating the overall fire safety standards for all residents. J In addition to their role, Fire Prevention Officers serve as Fire Investigators under the Fire Safety Act , actively engaging in fire cause and origin investigations. The outcomes of these investigations offer significant value to the community by enhancing fire and life safety, as they provide data that contributes to life safety code changes, fire prevention education, insurance changes, and support police investigations. J Additionally, Fire Prevention Officers review plan submissions during development permit and building permit application stages as well as fire safety plans during construction and occupancy of a building. These reviews ensure that both Fire Code and Fire Service operational requirements are met. J A team of two Community Risk Reduction (CRR) Officers conduct CRR inspections through the Community Property Safety Team (CPST) and Electrical Fire Safety Inspection Team (EFSIT) to address fire risks in distressed and high electrical consumption properties.

FIRE CHIEF

DEPUTY FIRE CHIEF

ASSISTANT CHIEF COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION

ASSISTANT CHIEF FIRE PREVENTION

COMMUNITY RISK REDUCTION OFFICERS

FIRE PREVENTION OFFICERS

2025 Initiatives

J Create a fire department access and water supply guideline for developers to ensure insurance gradings are sustained and consistency is provided in the development process. J Modify fire bylaws to comply with the new Fire Safety Act. J Implement a risk-based fire code compliance monitoring system to comply with the new Fire Safety Act J Increase public education about the fire risks related to electric vehicles, micro mobility devices, Photo-voltaic power supply systems and Building Energy Storage Systems (BESS) to reduce the risk of fire, injury and death from these technologies.

28 CITY OF SURREY