If a fire were to start in Stanley Park, there is a network of strike teams ready to respond.
Vancouver Park Board has pre-position apparatus around the park at No. 6 fire hall and No. 7 fire hall.
"That’s five very effective strike teams that can respond to the park in under five minutes,” says a spokesperson with the city.
Along with the team, there are 40 apparatuses spaced around the city that can quickly respond to Stanley Park.
"This amounts to additional layers of strike teams that are dedicated to protecting the park and supporting any fire response within the city,” says the spokesperson.
Fire chiefs from across the Thompson-Okanagan recently came together to create a strike team as fire departments are seeing more frequent and long-lasting wildfires.
BC Wildfire Service could be requested if needed and air tankers are situated in Abbotsford, just 10-15 minutes away.
The park board works closely with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) and Metro Vancouver to monitor the park and the city's urban forests.
All park rangers carry fire extinguishers in all of the trucks and patrol within the park. Patrol hours are extended during an extreme fire danger rating and rangers will deploy fire extinguishers when safe to do so on smaller fires.
"We also conduct strategic watering to prevent ignition risk and reach out to those sheltering in parks to educate on fire dangers and prevention," says the spokesperson.
Rangers also assist VFRS by guiding and directing crews to fires quickly on roads and pathways and use the What3Words app to pinpoint locations.
The public also plays a big role in fire prevention.
Smoking and open fires are prohibited in Vancouver parks and on beaches at all times.
