SECHELT FIRE CHIEF HONOURED

WHITEHORSE, YUKON, September 25, 2008 – Sechelt Chief Fire Officer, Bill Higgs, has been named Volunteer Fire Chief of the Year by the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs (CAFC).

The award was announced at the closing ceremonies of the CAFC annual Fire-Rescue Conference in Whitehorse last night.

Chief Higgs was born in Vancouver and grew up in Sechelt British Columbia where he joined the community’s Volunteer Fire Department in 1985. He was appointed Fire Chief in January, 1990.

In 1992, his department played a significant role as one of the first fire departments in North America to introduce Compressed Air Foam Systems and class A foam into the municipal firefighting area. His department has also been extremely active in promoting the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems, and as a result of these efforts, stringent sprinkler bylaws were passed that has made the Sechelt Fire Protection District one of the most “sprinklered “ communities in Canada.

Incoming CAFC President Bruce Burrell, Fire Chief for Calgary, congratulated Chief Higgs on receiving the award and noted that his successful work in promoting automatic sprinkler systems supports one of the fundamental goals of the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs.

There are some 3200 volunteer fire departments in Canada, with 84,000 personnel. They make up 91 percent of all Canadian fire departments and 77 percent of firefighting personnel.

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Information:

Don Warden

Executive Director
Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs
Cell: 705-444-9745
Blackberry: 705-717-8009

www.cafc.ca

Dawson City Fire Chief Jim Regimbal
President of the Association of Yukon Fire Chiefs
Tel: 867-334-6371

Click on the icon below to download the press release (.pdf format)

Biography : Bill Higgs CFO Sechelt fire Department                                   

Bill Higgs was born in Vancouver BC on April 2nd 1957 and grew up in Sechelt BC.

He graduated from Elphinstone High School in 1975 and then followed his father and grandfathers footsteps into the marine towing business. He obtained his Minor Waters Master ticket in 1983 from the Pacific Marine Training Institute.

Bill joined the Sechelt Fire Department in 1985 as a volunteer member rising quickly through the ranks and was appointed as Fire Chief in January of 1990, he remains in this position today.

In 1992, the department played a significant role as one of the first fire departments in North America to introduce Compressed Air Foam Systems (CAFS) and class A foam into the municipal firefighting arena.

The department has been extremely active in promoting the effectiveness of automatic fire sprinkler systems. To this end they produced a sprinkler video that has been widely used by others to convince local governments of the benefits of fire sprinklers. This video can be viewed on the department’s website. As a result, very stringent sprinkler bylaws were passed by local politicians making the Sechelt Fire Protection District one of the most sprinklered communities in Canada.

The department promotes Fire Protection concepts that can potentially lessen risk to firefighters and serve the public better. Lately they have been using the Dry Sprinkler Aerosol Units (DSPA) that can quickly provide “knock down” when thrown into a fire by first arriving crews. 

Fire Chief Higgs believes that although there will always be a place for the
 “Muscle and Hose” Fire Protection model, a lot can and should be done to explore and embrace new ideas and technology. He adds that “Fire Chiefs owe a moral and ethical obligation to their members and the communities they serve, to be aggressively searching for and implementing ways to better provide Fire Protection”.

Bill offers a piece of advice for up and coming Chief Officers “Don’t ever give up, sometimes perseverance and determination can be your best virtue”.

The Sechelt Fire Department has a staff of four, a complement of 40 volunteer members and serves a community of 11,000. It is located 40 kilos north of Vancouver BC on the beautiful Sunshine Coast.