Thread by @ThomasforBC

Thoughts on an independent review for the 2021 #BCWildfire season:

(Yes, it's still going. But we need to plan for the 2022 season...now)

Yet another wildfire 🧵

https://twitter.com/BlackwellMerlin/status/1428356100303200259

1) An honest evaluation of our response is crucial to improving our future responses. The same way an NHL player gets direction from coach, and coach from the GM, BCWS needs to receive feedback to improve.

We could be the best in the world, but we want to get better every year.

2) This must be independent.

Independent from BCWS, independent from partisan politics.

The 2003 Filmon & 2017 Abbott-Chapman reports were edited by political players. Although useful reports, I would not consider them truly independent

3) Operations focus.

Were we prepared? Did we have standing agreements with enough contractors? Did we have enough type I crews? Type II? Type III? Pumps? Hoses? Single Resources? Heavy Machinery? Partner agreements with FD's, industry, FN's, and rural fire brigades?

4) Confidential interviews with BCWS employees, partners, and contractors.

The nature of our standing offer procurement system means:

A) Contractors cannot speak about fire operations
B) Contractors can be released from the fireline and not rehired with no cause...

...this discourages honest feedback-feedback that is required for improvement.

This also applies to current BCWS employees. The organization is a military hierarchy with the higher ups determining who gets deployed and for what. That creates an disincentive against critical...

..feedback from the front lines. Rock the boat and you could find yourself benched.

I'm not saying this has happened, I'm saying the potential exists. As a former BCWS fire fighter and current contractor I wouldn't speak candidly unless I knew my remarks were confidential.

5) Independent and external, but supported by gov't.

A review will take time and cost $$$. To expedite it, the province should fund it and provide complete access to all requested contracts, emails, communications, and documents.

Yes, a Regional District could do..

...their own, but they would have to FOI massive amounts of documents. This would increase costs and delay the review. It also wouldn't allow for interviews with BCWS employees.

So the province should set terms, give access to records and employees, and get out of the way

6) Speed.

The next bad year might be 2022, it might be 2030. But we need to act like it'll be 2022.

Start the process yesterday. Initial findings October 31. Final report March 1.

The RDOS posted their after action review on August 18. Why hasn't the province started?

7) Take it seriously.

This isn't the time to think about polling, feelings, or to workshop a strategic vision document.

Civilians died. Two communities burned to the ground. Hundreds of homes lost. Thousands of people evacuated.

Stop fucking around and get it done.

Some personal comments:

These fire seasons are the new normal. We cannot expect to respond to them this way everytime they occur.

2017, 2018, and 2021 required heroic efforts from frontline fire fighters and affected communities. But we can't expect this every year...

...I have friends who now have PTSD from responding to Lytton burning to the ground. I hear from others suffering from losing their homes or being evacuated.

I'm exhausted bordering on burn out. I have two more days off then (likely) back to the fireline...

...my fall and winter work schedule will likely take more out of me than this fire season did. I had to rearrange everything to make myself available to respond, but I did so b/c it's the right thing to do.

I'm not complaining or looking for praise - I want to highlight..

...how completely unsustainable our current approach to these now normal fire seasons is.

Expecting heroic efforts from firefighters and communities as a normal is not sustainable. We're human.

I'm pretty fucking tired of politicians thanking us for our efforts but not...

...actually making changes that would help us defend our communities.

I get that Victoria is a hyper-partisan bubble where political points are more important than meaningful impacts. But it shouldn't be that way.

There might be a better way to affect change than an honest...

....independent review. If that's the case, I'm game.

But we need to change. And Victoria needs to understand the goal is helping our communities, not getting elected.

I'm willing to help. I'd rather work together as a province to make us better than fight the gov't...

...for the changes needed to protect our communities. But until I see them taking it seriously I will continue to do what I can from the outside.

/FIN