News Release

How to Protect Against Looting During Fire Evacuations

Commissionaires offers advice

July 12, 2010, Kelowna, BC -- The large fire burning at a sawmill near Armstrong has forced the evacuation of nearly 100 residents. Last year local residents were appalled to see evacuated homes looted during fires. This year residents evacuated from their homes due to the mudslide near Oliver also faced looting.

With fire season moving into full force, in the face of a sudden evacuation what can Okanagan residents do to protect their homes from thieves?

“The most important lesson learned during last year’s fire season and subsequent looting, is that residents need to be more prepared,” says Brian Garvie, Director of Operations for the Southern Interior for Commissionaires BC. “The key thing is to plan ahead and take a few simple steps to protect your property, well before you get that evacuation notice.”

Commissionaires BC is the biggest security company in Kelowna with over 250 employees in the southern interior. Last summer they provided security services at both the Kelowna and Vernon locations where displaced persons registered, and received support. In fact they received a Heroes and Rescue award from the Justice Institute of BC Foundation for the work they did as emergency responders during the 2009 fires.

Commissionaires offer these tips to protect yourself and your valuables:

Preparing for an Evacuation

  1. Plan where you and everyone that lives with you will stay during an evacuation. This includes pets and animals.
  2. Consider the vacation plans of the person(s) you are planning to stay with. Will they be at home, or will they be away on vacation during the summer months?
  3. Under an evacuation order, plan to be away longer than you think.  If you think you will be gone for three days, plan for five days.

Protecting Property Against Looting

  1. Make a list of which valuable items you will need to take with you when you go, so that you don’t forget anything in a panic. Don’t forget medications.
  2. Arrange for a security box at a bank where you can put small valuable items like jewellery, computer backup software, financial records, and personal information for your family.
  3. In terms of larger items like laptops and televisions, mark items for identification. Marking items can be done through RCMP programs.
  4. Take pictures of ALL your valuables with a digital camera, and keep the memory card in your safety deposit box at the bank. You can also supplement the photos with a property description log book. Details such as make, model, value, and serial number can be recorded for future reference. Again, store the log book in a safe place.

“Looters are looking for predominantly high value items that are easy to steal and easy to dispose of,” says Garvie. “They look for things like money, jewellery, laptop computers, expensive cameras, and iPods.”

Be Prepared is the motto of the Boy Scouts. "Be prepared for what?" someone once asked Baden-Powell, the founder of Scouting, "Why, for any old thing." said Baden-Powell. For residents of the Southern Interior this summer, being prepared for any old thing is exactly what they should be doing.

About Commissionaires BC

Commissionaires BC is British Columbia’s largest security organization, with a team of more than 1,600 professionals covering more territory in BC than any other security company. Commissionaires is not an agency of the federal or provincial governments. It is a private, self-supporting, not-for-profit organization. By operating in this manner, the company is able to fulfill their mandate of providing meaningful work to ex-military and RCMP personnel. The organization also hires individuals of good character without military or police experience.

Services include: security guarding, enforcement, identification services, training and security consulting. Commissionaires in BC protect air and sea ports, border crossings and government facilities. They work in schools, commercial enterprises and residential complexes. More information at: www.commissionaires.bc.ca.

Media Contacts:

Brian Garvie, Director Operations, Southern Interior, Commissionaires BC
T  250 979 4774
C 250 718 8909
kel-ops-dir@commissionaires.bc.ca

Patricia Robitaille, PR Strategies Inc.
T 604 873 0080
probitaille@shaw.ca

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