The District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services (DNVFRS) is a mission-oriented emergency services agency focused on the safety and well-being of our community.

Our members provide caring and compassionate emergency, fire, and rescue services to citizens and visitors.

We deliver our services through an integrated approach that encompasses emergency response for fire, rescue, and life safety, as well as fire prevention and investigation. 

A Welcome from Chief Brian Hutchinson

On behalf of the women and men who comprise the District of North Vancouver Fire & Rescue Services (DNVFRS), I am proud to present our 2019 Annual Report.

The DNVFRS is committed to providing emergency response and community risk reduction services to the residents of and visitors to the District of North Vancouver.

As Fire Chief, I am proud of the ‘can do’ attitude every member of our department embodies, regardless of rank, position, or assignment.

The lifesaving work we do on a daily basis could not be achieved without the support of our community, District Council, our public safety partners, and the different operational divisions within the District organization.

Our most important priorities

While we are engaged across our organization at the strategic, tactical, and task level to deliver the best possible service, our priorities can be summed up as the five ‘rights’.

Boiled down to the basics, our job is to ensure the right people (our firefighters), are at the right place, at the right time, with the right equipment and training, doing the right things and solving the problems at hand. 

Other important focus areas include engaging with the community, enhancing our capacity and capability to respond to major events, and embracing the use of industry best practices, innovation, and technology in our everyday operations.

Looking to the future

As the District of North Vancouver has evolved and transformed, so too has its Fire & Rescue Service. We are always striving to improve the effectiveness and the efficiency of our services, through innovation and ongoing analysis of our operational results.

We are consciously creating our future, by developing a comprehensive plan of action that leverages valuable data and metrics to inform how we evolve and change.

It is our honour to serve the District

Almost every day, my office receives a letter, an email or phone call, complimenting the fine work of our personnel in the field and in the office.

I am honored to serve with such a diligent and compassionate team who provide superior service and exemplary care throughout our community, and I’m thankful for the ongoing support we receive from District Council, without which this department would be significantly challenged to meet public expectations.

Council and residents alike can be proud that their Fire & Rescue Services team is one of the most highly trained, innovative, resilient, and compassionate emergency service agencies in North America.

Respectfully,

Brian Hutchinson, MA, CEM®, ECFO​

Your DNVFRS at a Glance

With over 130 firefighters, command, training, and support staff at five strategically located fire stations, we serve the District’s 160 square kilometers of urban and wilderness land, and our 82,500 residents.

What We Believe

Our Mission

We proudly serve our community by providing exceptional fire suppression, medical aid, technical rescue, fire prevention and public education services.

Our Vision

To be an inclusive and progressive leader that consistently provides our community with excellent service.

Our Values

• Community — Treat people with kindness and respect
• Integrity — Do the right thing
• Wellbeing — Foster physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing
• Innovative — Drive change for the good

Part of a Regional Fire and Emergency System

We are part of a regional fire and emergency services system, working alongside West Vancouver Fire and Rescue and the North Vancouver City Fire Department under a shared services agreement.

As a participating agency, the DNVFRS has agreed, along with our two North Shore partners, to eliminate jurisdictional borders for fire and rescue responses.

This system is a model within British Columbia and across Canada and provides a much higher level of service for citizens in the three participating municipalities.

City of North Vancouver partner  District of West Vancouver partner