The Town of Creston is now in charge of the Canyon-Lister Fire Department, but a regional fire chief says it won’t mean any major changes to the service.
Town council and the Regional District of Central Kootenay have both approved the transfer, which sees Creston Fire Rescue lease the Canyon-Lister fire hall and equipment at least to the end of 2023.
However, RDCK regional chief Nora Hannon says that doesn’t mean the Canyon-Lister department will disappear.
“Canyon-Lister will absolutely continue to exist but will be managed by the Town of Creston,” she says. “So it will be the same department with the same members and same apparatus.”
The agreement is similar to another signed in 2019 that saw Creston assume responsibility for the Wynndel-Lakeview Fire Department.
Hannon says for practical purposes, residents probably won’t notice the difference.
“Both these departments had a longstanding history of working closely with the Town of Creston, so it’s really leveraging and building on that working relationship, and something the volunteers and officers in both those departments supported and asked for.”
She says the departments can now standardize their training, policies, and procedures across the three service areas.
She adds the arrangement has been in the works for a couple of years.