This past year, the Apex Fire Brigade Society (AFBS) and the Apex Volunteer Fire Rescue (AVFR) have seen significant change and success. The most significant change of all is the AVFR being established as our tax-funded fire protection service for the Apex community. It was questionable whether or not a donation-based service was sustainable long-term for the purposes of achieving and maintaining a Fire Underwriters Survey Fire Protection Rating. Given the current climate surrounding insurance rates and forest fires, it is expected that the homeowner’s ability to obtain insurance in the currently “unprotected area” rating that Apex holds, will be increasingly difficult, if not impossible. AFBS members spent countless hours engaging with the community and conversing with the residents of Apex about the positives of a tax funded service.
As of January 1, 2022, Apex Volunteer Fire Rescue is our RDOS tax-funded fire service for the Apex community. This said, the AVFR will continue to remain closely linked with the AFBS through the AFBS bylaws, AVFR Standard Operating Guidelines and the AFBS/AVFR Joint Strategic Plan.
As we enter into 2022, and transition to the RDOS AVFR fire service, we’ve got our schedules packed full with:
– Onboarding of our AVFR members as paid on call firefighters
– Transitioning equipment from the AFBS, to the AVFR
– Training and achieving certification for our members as exterior firefighters (Firefighter 1), interior attack firefighters (Firefighter 2)
– Training and achieving certification of some of our designated members as Medical First Responders
– Engaging in advanced wildfire and structure protection training for AVFR members – Leadership training and certification for our officers
– Breaking ground on the construction of the new AVFR fire station
– Purchasing of a replacement frontline structural fire engine
– Retrofitting our newly acquired F550 into a wildland fire engine
This upcoming year is going to be very exciting with a lot of new changes. I am confident that our team is up for the challenge, especially with the support from the Apex Community. Alone, we can only do so little but together, we can do so much. Happy New Year!
