Research & Resources: Fire Prevention & Community Outreach

2023

July 2023 - Community Fire Risk Reduction: Longitudinal Assessment for HomeSafe Fire Prevention Program in Canada. This study aims to offer an overview and a longitudinal evaluation of the HomeSafe program implemented in Surrey in 2008 and to assess its effectiveness in mitigating fire-related outcomes.

2022

November 2022 - The impact of HomeSafe activities on cooking fires in the City of Surrey Explores the effects of the HomeSafe community risk reduction program introduced in the City of Surrey in 2008 on the frequency and impact of residential cooking fires.

September 2022 - Prioritization for the Scheduling of Fire Safety Inspections: Risk-Based and Data-Driven Inspection Framework Exploring the administrative systems used to prioritize the annual workload of the fire safety inspections.

2021

October 2021 - "Distressed Properties: Community Risk Reduction in the City of Surrey" An Evaluation and Analysis of the Distressed Properties Program

May 2021 - "A Review of First Responder Responses to Lift Assist and Traumatic Fall Incidents" Analysis on City of Surrey Medical Assistance Response

2020

October 2020 - "Journey of HomeSafe: Community Risk Reduction in Surrey" Analyses from Surrey Historical Data

2019

June 2019 - "City of Surrey Opioid Summit: Data to Action" Developing a Plan to Take Action from Data Insights to Prevent Overdoses and Overdose Fatalities

May 2019 - "Fires that Commence on Balconies of Multi-Residential Buildings" Analysis of the National Fire Incident Database

May 2019 - "Opioid Intervention Strategies in Surrey, British Columbia" An Evaluation of the Trends and Treatments

May 2019 - "Structure Fires in British Columbia" Exploring Variations in Outcomes as a Function of Building Height and Life Safety Systems

March 2019 - "The Influence of Electrical Fires in Residential Homes" Geospatial Analysis Pointing to Vulnerable Locations and Equipment Failures

February 2019 - "Predicting Illicit Opiate Drug Overdoses in the City of Surrey" Impacts of Opioid use in Neighbourhoods

2018

December 2018 - "Targeted Residential Fire Risk Reduction" A Summary of At-Risk Areas in the United Kingdom"

December 2018 - "Smoke Alarm Response Time" Examining the Relationship Between Working Smoke Alarms, Fire Service Response Times and Fire Outcomes"

January 2018 - "Residential Fire Injury and Death Rates in British Columbia" A statistical analysis pre and post 1975

2017

November 2017 - "Carbon Monoxide Poisoning Hospitalizations and Deaths in Canada"

October 2017 - "Sprinkler Systems and Residential Structure Fires - Revisited" Exploring the Impact of Sprinklers for Life Safety and Fire Spread

March 2017 - "Occupational Exposure to Asbestos among Civic Workers: A Risk Assessment of Low-dose Exposure"

2016

October 2016 - "Targeted Residential Fire Risk Reduction : A Summary of At-Risk Aboriginal Areas in Canada"

July 2016 - "Targeted Residential Fire Risk Reduction: A Summary of At-Risk Aboriginal Areas in Manitoba"

March 2016 - "Celebrating Seniors Report March 2016"

2015

September 2015 - “Smoke Alarms Work, But Not Forever: Revisited" Successes and Ongoing Challenges from BC’s Working Smoke Alarm Campaign.

August 2015 - "Assessing the Safety of Smart Meter Installations in British Columbia" An analysis of residential structure fires in BC between July 2012 and June 2015.

April 2015 - "Construction Site Fire Response"  Preventing and Suppressing Fires During Construction of Large Buildings.

April 2015 - "Construction Site Fire Safety" A Guide for Construction of Large Buildings.

2014

August 2014 - "A Dynamic Risk-Based Framework for Redesigning the Scheduling of Fire Safety Inspections" A risk-based, data-driven framework for redesigning fire safety inspections.

August 2014 - "Assessing the Fire Safety of Smart Meter Installations in British Columbia" Revisiting the residential structure fires in BC between July 2010 and June 2014.

July 2014 - "Intermodal Shipping Container Fire Safety" Studying the fire hazards related to using shipping containers as temporary and permanent storage buildings.

February 2014 - "Fire Outcomes by General Construction Type" A retrospective analysis of British Columbia reported fires.

2013

November 2013 - "Fires in the Basement of Single-Detached Residential Property" A retrospective analysis of British Columbia Residential Fires Reported 2008 to 2013

September 2013 - "Revisiting the Safety of Smart Meter Installations in British Columbia" An analysis of available data related to the issue of smart meter installation and residential structure fires.

July 2013 - "Temporal and Geographic Clustering of Residential Structure Fires" This paper compares residential structure fires and residential burglary within a North American city over a three-year period.

June 2013 - "The Non-Random Nature of Fire Safety Inspection Compliance" This document outlines the logic for rethinking the current approach to conducting fire safety inspections in BC Municipalities.

May 2013 - FIREFighting in Canada: "Patio Problems" Outside fires take longer to detect, cause more damage and need extra resources to extinguish.

February 2013 - "Taller Wood Buildings and Fire Safety - Existing Evidence about Large Wood Construction" A look at the existing evidence about large wood construction.

February 2013 - FIREFighting in Canada: "Hungry for Knowledge" Surrey Fire Service partners with local food banks to spread fire-safety message to at-risk population.

January 2013 - Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly: "Honouring Heroes" Home is a haven for first responders and their families who need medical care.

January 2013 - "Propane-Fuelled Vehicles and Multi-Residential Building Storage Risk" Examining the frequency of propane-fuelled structure and vehicle fires.

January 2013 - "Sprinkler Systems and Residential Structure Fires" Exploring the impact of sprinklers on life safety and fire spread.

January 2013 - "Fires That Commence on Balconies of Multi-Residential Buildings" Examining the significance of fires that occur on the exterior of multi-residential buildings.

2012

September 2012 - FIREFighting in Canada: "Walking the Walk" Surrey Firefighters and RCMP go door to door to reduce crime and promote fire safety.

August 2012 - "Evaluating Stakeholder Concerns with Wood Frame Buildings and Fire Risk" An evaluation of Bill 52, the Ontario Forestry Industry Revitalization Act.

August 2012 - "Evaluating Stakeholder Concerns with Wood Frame Buildings and Fire Risk - French" An evaluation of Bill 52, the Ontario Forestry Industry Revitalization Act.

June 2012 - FIREFighting in Canada: "Safe at Home" This BC program has reduced fires in high-risk areas by two-thirds.

May 2012 - "Reducing Frequency and Severity of Residential Fires Following Delivery of Fire Prevention Education by On-Duty Firefighters" A door-to-door fire prevention education program

April 2012 - "Examining 'Regular' Fire-Safety Inspections" Examining the missing relationship between timing of inspections and fire outcome.

February 2012 - FIREfighting in Canada: "The Wood Frame Conundrum" Study shows that sprinkler systems improve safety in mid-rise buildings.

January 2012 - "Sprinkler Systems and Fire Outcomes in Multi-Level Residential Buildings" An evaluation of the historical fire protection performance of sprinkler systems in multi-level residential buildings.

January 2012 - "Smoke Alarms Work, But Not Forever" Posing the challenge of adopting multifaceted, sustained, interagency responses to ensuring the presence of a functioning smoke alarm.

2010

August 2010 - FIREFighting in Canada: "Human Trafficking" Firefighters lend eyes and ears to report possible human trafficking and abuse.

2009

October 2009 - Canadian Firefighter and EMS Quarterly: "Dissecting Data" Fire study helps fire departments define education requirements.

July 2009 - "Global Concepts in Residential Fire Safety: Best Practices from Canada, Puerto Rico, Mexico and Dominican Republic" Reporting on best global practices in fire prevention.

May 2009 - FIREFighting in Canada: "Handling Highrises" A systems approach to safety in highrise buildings.

February 2009 - "Residential Fires in Surrey, B.C., 1998-2007" A study that reveals important trends in fire safety.

2008

December 2008 - "Surrey High Rise Report" A report to help identify and plan for the challenges posed by these buildings.

2007

July 2007 - "More Research Needed Into Vehicle Fires" A study of vehicle fires in Surrey contradicts national research into vehicle fires.

2006

May 2006 - "Smoke Alarms: Evaluating Effectiveness" Fire research about how factors such as socio-economic status and age can affect efficacy of smoke alarms.

May 2006 - "Burning Cars: Vehicle Fires Account for Half of Surrey, B.C. Calls"

2004

August 2004 - "No, It Wasn't an Accident" Fire truck parking inside library is a handmade gift from Surrey Fire Service to encourage literacy and fire safety education.

August 2004 - "The Impact of Residential Sprinklers on Public Fire Protection" Addressing the numerous ways in which residential sprinkler systems impact the fire service.