Photo courtesy Safeguard

By Caden Fanshaw

BC WILDFIRES

Safeguard blames bureaucratic red tape amid wildfire disaster

Aug 18, 2021 | 5:00 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – As more people in our province find out their homes were lost in the White Rock Lake Fire, a Northern BC-based company claims they could’ve prevented some of the destruction.

The company in question, Safeguard, says they would’ve been able to help if they had a contract to do so.

Katrine Conroy, Minister of Forests, Lands, Natural Resource Operations, and Rural Development said in an interview with CKPG News on Tuesday, the reason behind Safeguard and its water curtain technology not being used was due to the province’s procurement process.

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Jeff Kelly with Safeguard responded by saying there is no proper procurement for his company to apply for.

Kelly says the BC Wildfire Service’s maximum hose diameter allowed is four inches, and because what the company offers is much larger at 12 inches.

In a statement from the BC Wildfire Service,

“Vendors go through a careful selection process to ensure that they meet the BC Wildfire Service’s technical requirements.”

According to Kelly, those technical requirements are simply outdated.

“This is a bureaucratic change problem, our government is not willing to change,” says Kelly. “They’ve been using the same thing since the 1960’s with our pumping systems, and they don’t want to look at bigger pumping systems.

Safeguard says other provinces and also California are in talks for their services but until something changes, they won’t be hired by the BC government.