The Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre (CIFFC) is a not-for-profit corporation, owned and operated by the federal, provincial and territorial agencies responsible for wildland fire management in Canada.
During the fire season, CIFFC coordinates resource sharing, mutual aid and information sharing between provincial and federal wildland firefighting agencies and with international partners.
The Canadian Interagency Mutual Aid Resources Sharing (MARS) Agreement is the formal means by which equipment, personnel and aircraft are shared within Canada. There are also agreements with the United States which authorize sharing and allow for quick movement of resources across the international border. Additionally, arrangements exist with Australia, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa.
During the catastrophic 2021 fire season in British Columbia, the BC Wildfire Service was able to rely on these arrangements to request support from other Canadian provinces, the federal government, Mexico and Australia. CIFFC plays a key role in supporting this coordination of resources and in preparedness and planning.
During the fire season, CIFFC hosts weekly situation update calls between all provinces to maintain awareness of what resource availability exists. In that way, provincial and territorial wildland fire management agencies can manage staff availability based on predicted needs across the country.
Some years, BC Wildfire Service needs to import resources to aid in response, while other years the organization is in a position to export resources to other areas. BC Wildfire Service personnel have deployed to many other jurisdictions, including other Canadian provinces and territories, the United States and Australia.
“When additional resources are needed in British Columbia during busy seasons, like 2017, 2018 and 2021, we call the CIFFC duty officer and put in a request. They then work with the other provinces to determine who has available resources,”
Ryan Chapman, Deputy Fire Centre Manager of the Northwest Fire Centre.
In 2019, Chapman was filling the role of Provincial Wildfire Coordination Officer when Alberta was experiencing significant fire activity.
“I received a call from CIFFC on a Saturday afternoon asking BC Wildfire Service to provide a large number of resources – 200 crew staff – to support firefighting efforts in High Level, Alberta.”
Tanisha Suzuki, Provincial Safety Training Analyst for BC Wildfire Service, recounts being on the other side of the request when acting as Provincial Logistics Lead at the BC Wildfire Service Provincial Wildfire Coordination Office in 2021:
“2021 was one of the more challenging fire seasons, not only did we import around 917 people, but we also exported about 248 people and equipment. Add to the fact that we did this while still in the clutches of a global pandemic. The Provincial Wildfire Coordination Centre was fortunate enough to welcome CIFFC Representatives via CIFFC deployments to help with requesting resources, with moving the resources safety to B.C. and back home, and with navigating the complexity of national and international COVID-19 vaccination and testing regulations.”
In the world of wildland firefighting, where conditions fluctuate from year to year, the ability to cooperate with other jurisdictions is essential to protecting communities and the values that matter to residents of B.C. CIFFC enables this to happen quickly and efficiently and is a key partner for the BC Wildfire Service.
To learn more about the CIFFC, visit: Homepage | CIFFC