Taller wooden buildings will challenge Richmond firefighters

Richmond's chief fire prevention officer is concerned the city's ladder trucks won't be adequate when new rules allow taller wood-frame buildings to be built.

B.C. Premier Gordon Campbell announced last month that starting in April, the province's building code will be amended to allow six-storey wood frame structures in order to help B.C.'s beleaguered forest sector.

But fire prevention officer Dave Clou said using existing ladder trucks to fight fires in the taller wooden buildings could be difficult, and there's no money budgeted for new trucks with longer ladders.

"This code change came about very quickly it's not something we've been budgeting for," Clou said.

"It caught everyone by surprise, so there may be a gap there, or councils may have to make a decision or choice on whether they're willing to allocate more resources."

Currently B.C.'s building code only allows wood buildings to befour storeys tall.