Nelson Fire and Rescue Services
919 Ward Street
Nelson, B.C.
352-3103 (Non-emergency)

Fire Smart Community Initiative:

The fire department is happy to report that after community consultation and planning, we are moving ahead with the next step in creating our Fire Smart Community: Conducting our Fuel Treatment Strategy under the direction of a registered professional forester. The consultant, B.A. Blackwell & Associates, have prepared a fire-fuel treatment prescription for the following sites: Art Gibbons Park, 5 Mile Pipeline, Mt. St. Francis, Graveyard, South Pipeline, and LV Rogers High School,

This work will be completed by the successful contract bidder and commence as early as January 2010. The primary goal of the project is to undertake fuel modification work, thereby reducing the likelihood and intensity of wildfire in the wildland urban interface (WUI). Funding will be provided by the federal Job Opportunities Program and UBCM grant funding.

Some preliminary work has been commenced by city crews, at the top of Stanley Street. The purpose of this first phase is to reduce fuel load, improve the access to the trail and access to the area above the cemetery, where additional fuel mitigation work will be done this winter.

Fire Prevention Videos:

Kitchen Oil Fire

History of Nelson Fire & Rescue Service:

Nelson's first fire hall was built in 1894 and located on the Southeast corner of Josephine and Victoria Streets, the present location of the No. 2 Electrical Sub Station. The Fire hall served the community for nineteen years, which is a relatively short time for fire hall occupancies. The main reason for the short duration of time at that location was the rapid growth of residential and commercial buildings in the uphill area and that the new Fire hall should be located in the new growth area and still adequately serve the downtown core with respect to response times.

On August 26, 1912, the City Council approved tenders for the construction of the new Fire hall and awarded the contract to John Burns and Son in the amount of $17,973.00. The construction proceeded immediately and was completed in June 1913 when the Fire Department accepted the use of the Fire hall.

The new fire hall was designed to house four horses and two fire wagons and served the community until 1918 when the City purchased its first motorized fire apparatus, a 1918 American La France Pumper Truck.

Today the Fire Department has four "state of the art" pieces of fire apparatus which respond to in excess of four hundred fire calls annually. Today's role of the department includes such tasks as Medical First Responders, "Jaws of Life" Vehicle extraction, High Angle Rope Rescue, contract dispatching for two adjacent Fire Departments, Confined Space Rescue as well as Hazardous Goods Incidents. The department not only serves the City of Nelson but a large contracted area for the Regional District of Central Kootenay.

Under the direction of Fire Chief Simon Grypma, the department consists of 1 Deputy Chief, 4 Captains, 6 Fire Fighters and a secretary-dispatcher as well as 21 auxiliary Fire Fighters

The City of Nelson has the recognized distinction of operating from the oldest fire station in the Province of British Columbia. The Nelson Fire and Rescue members send you a warm welcome.