05/05/2026
Pitt Meadows Firefighters - IAFF Local 4810 doing more with less.
This is yet another example of how composite paid-on-call call fire departments continue to fail to meet the demands of rapidly expanding urban communities.
These communities must make significant investments to ensure community and firefighter safety.
Wishing a speedy recovery to the injured firefighters 🙏
BC Professional Fire Fighters
International Association of Fire Fighters 6th District
City of Langley
Langley City Fire Rescue Service
Letter to our community,
Over the weekend our members responded to another structure fire in a residential neighborhood. Crews worked diligently to knock down the fire and save adjacent homes.
A single crew of 4 firefighters worked to save 3 homes, essentially doing the job of 15. Eventually only 3 paid on call members with limited qualifications responded. Only 7 firefighters continued to battle the fire and interior operations had to be delayed until Maple Ridge responded to help due to limited resources.
A small number of qualified firefighters worked every phase of the incident without rehabilitation or medical assessment as outlined by NFPA standards.
Two 2 firefighters were injured. Both injuries were not severe but will still result in time loss and a recovery period.
Our members will always go above an beyond to protect our community.
However this incident like many others highlights the challenges of the current staffing model. We recognize there have been significant investments in ensuring a fully staffed first engine. However, that assumed there was adequate back up for larger incidents.
The Paid On Call model is failing to keep up. It can no longer be relied upon. A lack of qualified resources directly effects our ability to keep you safe and keep ourselves safe.
This incident is not a one off, it is the unfortunate state of the current response model. It is not the fault of any Paid On Call members individually, but rather the reality of the challenges that the POC model has as a whole to meet standards required for emergency response in a growing community.
Change is needed.
We are committed to working with admin staff and City officials to navigate these issues
Public Safety Matters
Firefighter Safety Matters
