New Malakwa Fire Chief Aaron Bunbury is looking to build up the department, both in numbers and community profile.

Having officially stepped into the role on Sept. 1 after being with the department for seven and a half years, Bunbury has identified two key areas he plans to focus on in the immediate future. 

"One of my big pushes right now is actually recruitment, we are low on numbers... ," he said, saying they have currently about 16 or 17 members, including two who just signed on. "So my push right now is getting some community engagement and involvement and letting them know who we are, where we are, what we do.

"That's really what we're all about, is trying to better our community."

A resident of Malakwa for eight years now, Bunbury added he's surprised how many locals don't know there is a community fire department, with many still assuming it's Sicamous crews responding to local calls. He hopes to change that and increase the department's community presence so when they do go out on calls, homeowners know who's showing up and that they are professional firefighters. 

As part of that, Bunbury encourages members of the public to come check out their weekly practices and see the hall, trucks and equipment because "it's their tax dollars that pay for all this and we want them to feel the benefit of that and see that those tax dollars are going to appropriate things and to make sure that they're safe."

A big part of that is the training members receive through the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD), which has developed a program that Bunbury said is "revolutionizing" how rural areas and municipalities train and utilize volunteer fire departments.

"A lot of times they were just left up to their own devices and left to learn and figure it out on their own and now, with the system that they've developed, pretty much all my senior firefighters are pro board certified firefighters," he said. "It's something that a lot of other regional districts and municipalities and even provinces are actually looking at right now, what they've developed, and trying to adapt it to their systems because it is an incredible system."

Bunbury added that training is ongoing, with practices every Tuesday night when they work their way through the training manual front to back, with that ongoing repetition building muscle memory. He explained that is particularly important for smaller departments as they don't have the call volume that regularly puts those skills into practice. Training keeps them prepared for all situations whenever they do encounter them. 

"In our line of work, complacency is dangerous," Bunbury said. 

Anyone interested in becoming a volunteer firefighter with the Malakwa department, or any other in the district, can find more information at  or stop by the fire hall during practice and talk to Bunbury directly. 

"We're definitely trying to reach out to the community and let them know that we need them," he added. "As much as they need us, we need them."