The Gabriola fire department plans to try out for an accreditation process that will provide a discount for commercial properties similar to a discount it has already won for private residences, according to Fire Chief Rick Jackson.

In his August 1 report to the Gabriola Fire Protection Improvement District (GFPID) board, Jackson said a letter is in the works to the Fire Underwriters Survey (FUS) to say that the Gabriola fire department has “upgraded our tankers and is building a new fire hall”. He said FUS has now developed a rating for commercial properties, “and we intend to try to challenge that and hopefully at some point we will be able to provide the commercial people with a similar insurance savings as we did for residential (owners)”.

As previously reported, the Gabriola Volunteer Fire Department has achieved Superior Shuttle Tanker Status. This means that they are able to deliver enough water to a fire in a short enough period of time to qualify Gabriolan homeowners for a discount in their insurance.

Jackson said the commercial accreditation requires them to deliver twice as much water, but the required delivery distances are half what they are for the residential certification.

As for their current accreditation, Jackson said he was “comfortable with it, if and when we have to recertify”. He said FUS might not even require them to do so, but “if they want us to that’s great”.