The crews generally respond to small fires and are the key reason BC is able to contain 94 percent of new fire starts within 24 hours of discovery. Once fire fighters are at the fire, the three crew members work quickly to set up water pumps, remove fuel from the fire's path using a pulaski or shovel, and dig fire guards to help control or extinguish the blaze. This work is essential as we strive to contain more than 90 per cent of BC's fires within 24 hours of discovery. Initial attack crews are highly mobile and can often be relocated throughout the province and the country to be ready to respond to new fires in other regions and provinces. Initial attack fire fighters are stationed at more than 50 bases around the province, close to where fires break out.
Some accommodation is available at a limited number of bases for a nominal fee.
Inaccessible Lightning fires During the summer months, lightning storms often illuminate BC skies. A review of lightning fire starts show these fires most often occur at higher elevations in inaccessible terrain. Historically, these lightning fires would break out in dense timber and take off unchecked until crews could hike in and fight the blaze. The monumental cost of these fires lead to the development of the specialized Rapattack fire fighting team which uses a helicopter and rope rappelling technique to drop into the fire area and attack these lightning-caused fires when they are small. Rapattack crews are also used on larger fires to move into an area and remove timber and create a helicopter landing location so additional crews and equipment can be strategically located around the fire's perimeter.