The president of the Fire Chief's Association of B.C. is calling on B.C. cities to enforce stricter fire safety rules for large woodframe buildings during construction.
In 2009 the province changed the building code to allow woodframe buildings up to six stories high as part of the B.C. Wood First Act, pioneered by then-forest minister Pat Bell.
Chief Len Garis said he began work on revising the fire protection guidelines for woodframe construction after a four-storey wood building under construction was destroyed in a massive fire in Surrey in 2008. In May a six-storey wood building under construction in Richmond was destroyed in a similar fire.
"There is no protection. They are a huge pile of kindling," Garis said. "They are hugely challenging to your resources."
In Prince George a four-storey, woodframe seniors' housing complex is currently under construction at 1373 Sixth Avenue.
Developers are required to create and follow a fire safety plan during the construction of the building, however the requirements for those plans don't go far enough, he said.
Developers should be required to install and activate sprinker systems on each floor as it rises from the foundation, he said. Water should be available onsite to combat any fires which do break out and fire doors should be installed early in the construction phase.
"It's essentially all of the best practices that we were able to find," Garis said.
Surrey has already adopted the guidelines and all B.C. fire chiefs have the authority to require the changes under the B.C. Fire Services Act, Garis said.
Prince George fire Chief John Lane said he has not considered forcing the issue within the city at this time. No applications have been made in the city to build a woodframe building larger than four stories, he said.
"It's important that these sorts of measures suit the needs of the individual community," Lane said. "We certainly would be cautious before we unilaterally imposed anything like this."
There is a history of buildings burning down during construction in Prince George, he said. A fire broke out at the Centaur Villa apartments on Ospika Boulevard while it was under construction, he said.
However, Lane said, he believes the current fire safety regulations set out in the B.C. Building Code and B.C. Fire Code are sufficient at this time.
Prince George-Mackenzie MLA Pat Bell, who spearheaded the call for larger woodframe construction when he served as forests minister, said residents should not be concerned about the safety of completed woodframe buildings.
"We know woodframe buildings are safe once all the drywall is installed and people are moving in," Bell said. "The vulnerability is during the construction phase. I think it's absolutely work reviewing the two fires we had [in the Lower Mainland]. Anything we can do to help during the construction of these buildings."
Commonwealth Financial president Dan McLaren, whose organization is building the four-storey, woodframe seniors home on Sixth Avenue, couldn't speak directly to the safety precautions taken on the site. However, he said, the company is dedicated to promoting wood construction in Prince George.
"We'd like to see George Street having a variety of wood construction types. If any city should be able to capture the architectural value of wood, it should be Prince George," McLaren said.
The safety manager for Yellowridge Construction couldn't be reached for comment about the safety practices used on the site.
