On April 19, 2025, a 55+ complex at Corbould and Kipp in Chilliwack's downtown rapidly went up in flames. Fire hoses strained to reach the roof where the fire apparently raced through the attic. Similar complexes are under construction all over the city Chilliwack, a community of more than 100,000 people relies on paid-on-call firefighters, built around a core of career firefighters. It can take time for paid-on-call firefighters to respond to calls, get to the fire hall and suit up, and if the right combination of firefighters with needed skills isn't there, then the truck might not go out. Additionally, the Chilliwack fire department doesn't offer swift water rescue.  Firefighters respond to the Vedder river for drowning calls numerous times per year and usually can't enter the water. This means victims must wait for volunteers from Search and Rescue to gather their equipment downtown and respond. Our fire department also does not offer heavy rescue. This training and equipment would enable us to deal with incidents involving equipment like forklifts, semis and excavators and heavy farm equipment.  Chilliwack hillsides are particularly at risk from interface fires--fires that occur where buildings meet trees. The proximity of wooded hillsides, with little to no fire mitigation measures, to residential neighbourhoods is seen on Promontory, where more than 12,000 residents live in a community with only two roads in and out. Traffic backs up regularly during the weekday commute, proving how difficult it would be to get everyone off the hill in the event of an emergency.