29: “Partners in Progress” Guest: Fire Chief Brian Hutchinson, District of North Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services

07/31/23 • 38 min

This episode features Brian Hutchinson, Fire Chief for the District of North Vancouver. In our conversation with Chief Hutchinson, we speak about his personal background, his passion for wildfire and his focus on training and developing his team and community to become more resilient to wildfire. This episode also highlights his involvement as the host fire department of the 2023 Summit and he touches on how the conference came to be, the planning it took to bring it to life over the past two years as well as the focus on the main theme - Partners in Progress.

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit.

Links:

To learn more about FireSmart BC visit firesmartbc.ca

Learn more about the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit: https://firesmartbc.ca/wildfire-resiliency-and-training-summit/

Watch FireSmart BC Videos: https://vimeo.com/firesmartbc

This episode was recorded live at the 2023 Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit.

Links:

To learn more about FireSmart BC visit firesmartbc.ca

Learn more about the Wildfire Resiliency and Training Summit: https://firesmartbc.ca/wildfire-resiliency-and-training-summit/

Watch FireSmart BC Videos: https://vimeo.com/firesmartbc

Previous Episode

28: “Women in Wildfire Resiliency” Guests: Brittany Seibert & Deanne Suddaby, 2023 Lynn Orstad Award Recipients

This special episode features Deanne Suddaby and Brittany Seibert, both proud recipients of the 2023 Lynn Orstad Award. In our conversation today, we speak with Deanne and Brittany about their professional background, their personal passion for wildfire, and their experience building their careers focused on wildfire resiliency.

Brittany Seibert is currently the Emergency Program Coordinator for the City of Penticton as well as working with the BC Wildfire Service as a Structure Protection Specialist. Brittany was grateful to be recognized for her impactful work through the Lynn Orstad Award. She is also deeply honoured to be recognized in memory of someone who was such a positive influence on everyone who worked with her.

Deanne Suddaby is currently the FireSmart Program Advisor for FireSmart BC and FireSmart Alberta. She had the opportunity to work directly with Lynn Orstad in the past and is humbled to have been nominated and chosen for the award. Deanne is thankful that Lynn’s incredible legacy lives on through this award.

Links:

Learn more about the Lynn Orstad Award: https://firesmartbc.ca/lynnorstadaward/

To learn more about the FireSmart BC program visit firesmartbc.ca

To learn more about FireSmart Canada visit: https://firesmartcanada.ca/

Watch FireSmart BC Videos: https://vimeo.com/firesmartbc

Keep your eye out in Winter of 2023 for the 2024 Lynn Orstad Nominations to open!

Next Episode

30: “Connecting Data and People in Wildfire Resiliency” Guest: Mike McCulley, BC Wildfire Service (Part 1)

Mike McCulley is a Research and Innovation Senior Officer at BC Wildfire Service. In today’s episode, we begin the first of two parts and dive into Mike’s career on the front lines of wildfires. Mike specializes in working with both data and people—which are two things your average person doesn’t often think about when considering a wildfire. He shares stories of impact that stood out to him during his career, significant lessons learned, and the importance of FireSmart and wildfire resiliency. Mike has worked for the BC Ministry of Forests for 28 years and is currently leading the BC Wildfire Service Research and Innovation program.

Links:

To learn more about FireSmart BC visit firesmartbc.ca

To explore the BC Wildfire Service website, visit https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/wildfire-status

Watch FireSmart BC Videos: https://vimeo.com/firesmartbc