The BC Government has amended the Local Government Act, enabling regional districts to designate fire inspectors and investigators and establish fire inspection and fire investigation services without requiring a service establishing bylaw. These amendments, which came into force on May 29, 2025, are directly related to responsibilities under the Fire Safety Act, which came into effect on August 1, 2024.
Under the Fire Safety Act, regional districts are required to appoint fire inspectors and investigators to cover unincorporated areas of the province. As a result of the amendments to the Local Government Act (notably section 338(2)(j)), these services can now be implemented and accounted for in the same manner as other services that do not require a service establishing bylaw, such as regional district electoral area administration.
Prior to the Fire Safety Act coming into effect, UBCM worked with the Office of the Fire Commissioner (OFC) to address regional districts’ concerns, by reaching an outcome that will see the OFC perform fire inspections and investigations on behalf of regional districts, when asked by the regional district, at no cost.
For regional districts that elect to conduct fire inspections and investigations, all related activities can now be carried out without the need for a service establishing bylaw. For those regional districts that will request that the OFC perform these duties, they may still carry out supporting activities without requiring a service establishing bylaw. Examples of supporting activities include:
- Requesting fire inspection or fire investigation support from the OFC.
- Providing the address of a premises to be inspected or investigated.
- Stating the reasons for a fire inspection or fire investigation.
- Sharing the contact information of the owner or occupier of the premises to be inspected or investigated.
- Reporting, as applicable, previous fire suppression, inspection, or investigation at a premises address.
As noted above, these changes do not impact regional districts’ ability to request that the OFC conduct fire inspections and investigations on their behalf as needed, at no cost. More information can be found in the Fire Safety Act: Regional district fire inspection and fire investigation procedures document.