-
I’m Running for GFPID Trustee
The way this fire department is run, drives me nuts. Running for Trustee is me stepping up and working towards a fire department organization that is worthy of the respect that the fire service gets. People wonder what is going on. There is a continual smattering of pissed off and hurt people, left in the Continue reading
-
Number Four
Well… here is my fourth letter regarding your long term plan. I’ll start with a summary of my previous requests, as I truly believe they are important. One, a mission statement that has something to do with being an honorable and respected organization in the community. Two, a commitment by the Trustees of accountability and Continue reading
-
My Third Letter to the Trustees Regarding the Long Range Plan
To the Trustees, Here is my third letter regarding your long term plan. I strongly believe the most important thing the Trustees can do for the fire department is have an appropriate organizational structure and move past the culture of victimhood that believes you are under attack all the time and move towards one that Continue reading
-
My Second Letter to the Trustees Regarding Long Term Plan
To the Trustees, I am going to make another request regarding the Long Range Plan. In particular, the organizational structure part of the Executive Summary. I agree with Wayne Mercier’s critique of that. I believe this has been a long standing source of tension around this organization. There seems to be resistance in putting the Continue reading
-
Letter to the Trustees Regarding Long Term Plan
Below, is my open letter to the Trustees, it is input for their long term plan. I hope they listen to it and use it to get ahead of Wayne Mercier. He has been eating their lunch and it is sad to watch. Anyways: To the Trustees, For those of you who don’t know my Continue reading
-
Erik’s Letter
That is the first piece of leadership that I have seen come out of the fire department in a long time. It is good to hear that everyone is behaving now. It sounds like people want to move past the shit show that was. It is worth a reminder, that the “winning side” wasn’t squeaky Continue reading
-
I’m Parking This for Now
For my own mental health, I need to move on from anything to do with fire. I have come to realize that I have PTSD from working at the GVFD. The injustice that I witnessed at the GVFD does not leave my mind. It’s not healthy. I don’t know how to heal from this, but Continue reading
-
Is Gabriola a Fire Resilient Community?
There is a Vancouver Sun article, dated Sept 8, 2023, titled – B.C. hasn’t followed recommendations to mandate fire-resistant building materials in hazard zones. It is well worth the read. As per the title, BC has not followed it’s own report recommendations to mandate fire-resistant building codes. California, Oregon and Washington have all implemented these Continue reading
-
Wildfire Governance
Wow. This is an increadable paper. It gets into the cultural paradigms of how forests and wildfires have been governed in BC. This image, is the paper in a nutshell. To me, the paper was a fascinating read. I would argue that structural fire departments like the GFVD are stuck in the 1912 – 1976, Continue reading
-
Lytton Fire Report
The Lytton fire is a pivotal event for wildland fire thinking. Before this fire, much of the focus was on forest fuels. Yet this fire burned the town down in a couple of hours, and there was basically no forest. Forest fuels are still an important component of interface fire risk, but the root problem Continue reading
ABOUT ME
I’ve spent 16 of the last 18 years as a structural firefighter, eight years on Gabriola and eight years with the City of Kimberley. My formal education is a BSc in Chemical Engineering and have worked in heavy industry for 20 years. I’ve been involved with or watched the Gabriola fire department over the last ten years, and it drives me nuts. The shenanigans are astounding. I also think it is getting worse, not better. This is me stepping up and trying to make a positive contribution. It’s hard to say if I can or not, the forces of goofyism that I will be up against, are pretty strong.