A new FireSmart Home Assessment Program is now available for Northern residents.
This service is free, and puts homeowners in contact with professionals who will make various recommendations on how they can improve the safety of their homes against a wildfire. Assessments have already been offered in Fort Simpson, and will soon be offered in Inuvik, Fort McPherson, and Tsiigehtchic from July 9th to the 15th. More regions will receive the same opportunity throughout the summer, as the GNWT is planning on reaching every part of the Territory.
For the first phase of this plan, the GNWT is offering these assessments to areas whose fire departments are not currently running the Advanced Home Assessment Program. Communities will be given advanced notice of when the assessments will be available, though their availability may become impacted by whether or not the assessor will be needed for wildfire operations.
Cross training is being conducted in Yellowknife and Norman wells fire departments, and more training will be done as the summer progresses. The goal is to have communities able to conduct their own assessments before Spring of 2025.
In a statement, Jay Macdonald, the Minister of Environment and Climate Change, said that he “would like to thank all the NWT residents who were proactive in implementing FireSmart action before this year’s wildfire season. We have been investing in programs that connect northerners with the expertise they need to make a plan for wildfire resilience at their homes and cabins, and we will continue to support local cross-training and capacity-building to help our communities, residents and partners increase wildfire resilience across the whole-of-society.”
Anyone who wishes to receive a home assessment can request one by sending an email to [email protected]
