Stock shots. First part shows A-26 and Firecat airtankers dropping on a fire in the area of Mica dam. The second part shows a helicopter hovering near a fire and a rapattack crew descending from it.

The series consists of records dating from 1937 to 2000, relating to the approval of building plans, as required by the Fire Services Act and pursuant regulations.

The records document the functions and activities of the Fire Commissioner’s office, including fire prevention measures and practices of the time. The plans and related correspondence also document the history of buildings which have played a significant role in the life of communities throughout the province.

Prior to 16 October 1992 plans were required for a wide array of building types. After that date, submission of plans to the Fire Commissioner was only required for licensed beverage establishments and bulk plants. Plans include those for proposed all-new construction and for proposed alterations and additions to structures.

Records include various types of architectural and technical drawings, including blueprints, and the correspondence and other textual records related to the building in question (a “case file).” The drawings include site plans, floor plans, and technical drawings such as those of alarm systems and emergency lighting. Typically, the files contain the plan(s), correspondence from the architect that has submitted plans, and a copy of outgoing correspondence, typically a letter granting approval.

Most of the records were ordered according to a classification system which included a number and a letter, with the letter signifying a type of structure, as follows:

A = Public halls
B = Recreational buildings
C = Schools and colleges
D = Bulk fuel plants
E = Theatres
F = Hospitals and seniors care facilities
G = Buildings (various types, including apartment buildings)
H = Miscellaneous
I = Indian schools
J = Alarm and emergency systems

The majority of the records date from prior to the name change in 1979 from Fire Marshall to Fire Commissioner. Creator offices of the records include five different regional offices: Vancouver Island, Vancouver/Fraser, Northern, Interior, and Kootenay.

Certificate of membership for James William Bland, in the Victoria Fire Department, V.I., dated May 5, 1869.

The item is a video copy of CTV news footage. Shows stock footage of forest fires and forest fire fighting on Vancouver Island. Includes footage of: airtankers dropping fire retardent; burned-over areas; small towns at risk; testing of fire equipment; number of fires burning in the province; impact of lightning strikes; financial impact of forest fires in the province; rapattack crews in action; etc.

CALL NUMBER: T2798:0001 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Boyhood of a young trapper ; trapping around Hobson Lake and Horsefly, B.C. RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977-08-22 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Arrival of the DeWees family on foot from Washington when Dick was 10; the family camped for a while, then settled in an old cabin at Antoine Lake, northwest of Horsefly, where they lived for two years in the 1920s; life when Dick was a young boy; story of fishing on Horsefly Lake; trapping at Antoine Lake; schooling at Horsefly at the first and second schools there; how he earned $60.00 a month as a janitor while going to school; school at Black Creek. TRACK 2: Trapping as a young boy at Hobson Lake; his family winters on Quesnel Lake at Killdog Creek; story of trapper Bill Miner and trapping with Lloyd Walters. CALL NUMBER: T2798:0002 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Stories of old-timers and of the local dances, Horsefly, B.C. RECORDED: [location unknown], 1977 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Dick DeWees talks about the old Miocene Mine in 1918; mining at Jawbone Pool; mining near Joe Williams' house, east of the river, in 1923. Dick tells the story of cooking for a suppression crew when he was 13; trapping with Fred and B. Hooker and Lloyd Walters; stories about Tom Hooker and the Hooker family; blacksmith; sawmill; hunting lodge. TRACK 2: Stories of old timers in Horsefly; Spencer Hope Patenaude and the telegraph office; John Wawn, a central figure in the community; Justice of the Peace; school trustee; his shoe repair shop; Alec and Matilda Meiss of the Meiss Hotel; the Bull Moose Club as bachelor's headquarters; dances at the community hall. CALL NUMBER: T2798:0003 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Transportation and hunting in the Cariboo RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: The trip from the United States to Horsefly in 1918; early roads; Horsefly in 1918. TRACK 2: Trapping around Horsefly Lake and Quesnel Lake. CALL NUMBER: T2798:0004 SUPPLIED TITLE OF TAPE(S): Big game hunting in the Cariboo RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: Big game hunting around Horsefly, B.C. CALL NUMBER: T2798:0005 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: [No content summary available for this tape.] CALL NUMBER: T2798:0006 RECORDED: [location unknown], 1978 SUMMARY: TRACK 1: Prospecting and mining in the Horsefly area; both placer and hard-rock. TRACK 2: Mining around Horsefly; dances in the community hall.

Stock shots

Television stock shots