News release

Province Hosts International Fire Conference

Natural Resources (to July 2018)

Halifax will be a hot spot this spring when the Department of Natural Resources and the Fire Marshal's Office co-host Interface Fires 2000, Building Fire Smart Communities in the Wildland-Urban Interface.

Land-use planners, the insurance industry and government agencies, such as fire fighting organizations and emergency measures groups, will be participating in this international conference being held May 7-10 at the Sheraton Halifax.

"This Canadian initiative will bring participants and speakers together to address the growing concern of forest fires that threaten our homes and communities," said Natural Resources Minister Ernest Fage. "Prevention is the key objective. We want to ensure that communities are safe from forest fires."

As more and more people move outside the city, there needs to be more thought as to what this means for potential fires and service to these areas. This conference provides an opportunity for those involved in the planning and development of communities to discuss the threat of interface fires and how to reduce the risk.

"There is a limit to the protection that any one agency can provide," said Robert Cormier, Nova Scotia's Fire Marshal. "This conference will bring together new partners and begin the process to build fire smart communities."

This conference is a project of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre and the Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs, through the Wildland-Urban Interface Consultative Group Committee. Participants and speakers from Canada, the United States, and Australia will attend the conference.

More information is available on the website at www.fires2000.org.