Volunteer firefighters from the Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation, as well as the Tofino and Ucluelet Fire Departments responded to a house fire last Friday in the village of Esowista.
It’s the third house fire the nation has experienced within the past three years, which Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation Emergency Preparedness Coordinator Elmer Frank said is abnormal.
“There’s definitely been a lot [of fires] and we’re certainly hoping that we’re not going to see any more,” he said. “Nobody wants to see that.”
While Tofino Fire Chief Brent Baker couldn’t disclose the cause of the fire, he said it was “accidental” and there were no injuries.
“It's a big loss when something like this happens,” said Baker. “There is generally a fairly large grief period. When you lose a home, similar to losing a member of the family, it's quite serious – and it can take some time [to recover].”
Around five years ago, Frank said Tla-o-qui-aht entered a fire protection agreement with the Tofino Fire Department for the nearby reserve communities of Ty-Histanis and Esowista.
“They've responded to two fires here,” said Frank. “And they did it in a very good, timely manner. So, it's definitely helpful to have this agreement with them.”
On route to the scene, the Tofino Fire Department communicated with the Ucluelet Fire Department, which also dispatched members to assist in fighting the blaze.
Frank said Tla-o-qui-aht volunteer firefighters were at the scene within minutes and that the Tofino Fire Department was there within 45 minutes.
“They're coming from Tofino and they're all volunteer firefighters too,” said Frank. “The response was quick.”
Baker said the fast response from Tla-o-qui-aht members helped to keep the fire from spreading, and allowed the Tofino department to get the fire under control more quickly.
Frank said the nation is hoping to grow their firefighting crew from the 10 volunteers they currently have by providing additional fire training. The pandemic’s recent Omicron wave prevented the in-person fire training from going ahead, but Frank said they’re hoping to get it up and running “once we start getting over the worst of it.”
