SERVICES WE OFFER
PROFESSIONAL, COMPREHENSIVE RANGE OF FORESTRY SERVICES
Training
Wildfire Suppression Training
With over 30 years of experience in wildfire suppression and 27 years instructing BC Wildfire Courses, Doug Harrison brings hands-on expertise and deep knowledge to every course he leads. Our wildfire training is customized to meet the specific needs of organizations, offering practical and comprehensive education rooted in real-world experience. We also provide flexibility in course delivery, traveling to your location to conduct training tailored to your organizational requirements.
Here are the BCWS Fire training courses we instruct:
- S100 Basic Fire Suppression & Safety (S130 Fundamentals of Fire Fighting, S190 Fireline Safety S232 Portable Pumps, and Water Delivery Systems & WHMIS)
- S185 Fire entrapment Avoidance
- S211 Fire Weather
- S212 Fire Communications,
- S213 Use of Bulldozers and Heavy Equipment
- S230 Crew boss,
- S235 Burning off and Backfiring,
- S241 Fire Assessment
- ICS 100 Incident Command System 100
- ICS 200 Incident Command System 200
Qualified Falling Services – Including Faller Supervision
Tree Falling, Faller Supervision, New Faller Training / Audits
Apex offers professional falling services tailored for various forestry applications. With a commitment to safety and skill, we provide expertise in:
- Falling and Logging Contracts
- Danger Tree Falling / Assessing on Wildfires
- Certified Faller Supervision
- Faller & Chainsaw Competency Audits
- New Faller Training (NFT) – BCFSC
Doug Harrison, a Qualified Supervisor / Trainer (QS/T), brings years of experience instructing the BCFSC New Faller Training (NFT) course and conducting falling audits for numerous clients. As a Co-Chair of the Falling Technical Advisory Committee (FTAC), Doug is deeply involved in advancing faller safety practices across BC.
Additionally, Doug serves as one of the lead instructors for the BC Forest Safety Council’s “Faller Supervisor” course. Doug can act as Certified Falling Supervisor for clients who require this essential service.
Wildfire DTA DTF Contract
Danger Tree Assessor / Danger Tree Faller (DTA / DTF), Faller Coordinator and Danger Tree Specialist
For numerous years Apex has held a standing arrangement with the BCWS for the following:
- Danger Tree Assessors / Danger Tree Fallers
- Faller Coordinator
- Danger Tree Specialist
For other forestry related work, we employ DTA’s that are trained with the “Forest Activities ” & “Parks & Recreation” DTA modules.
Reduce Hazardous Forest Fuel Build-Up
Interface Fuel Management – Chipping, Piling & Burning, Guarding, and Slash pile removal
Apex has successfully managed Interface Fuel Management projects across British Columbia. These projects are essential for reducing hazardous forest fuel buildup around communities, significantly lowering the risk of high-intensity fires that could spread rapidly or reach tree canopies.
Our Interface Fuel Management services include:
- Logging Slash Piles: Logging activities often leave tree limbs, tops, and other residues, which can create fire hazards. Apex manages these slash piles by burning or chipping.
- Pile and Burn: We pile slash together and burn it under safe conditions, typically in winter after it has dried. Burns are carefully conducted during wet periods or with light snow cover, usually in late fall or early spring.
- Chipping: This method eliminates the risk of fire and smoke concerns. Depending on the location and density, slash is chipped by hand or machine fed.
Apex takes full responsibility for each Fuel Modification project, providing experienced crews, a track chipper, all necessary equipment, and a customized safety plan tailored to each contract.
Saw Training / Audits
Power Saw Training
We organize 2 or 3-day PSO training courses at our office or can travel to accommodate our client needs.
- Day 1 is spent in the classroom outlining the parts of a chainsaw, safe handling/carrying skills, defining kickback hazards & management, tools, PPE, site hazard identification, and identifying bind. The classroom session gets participants out of their seats regularly to handle the saw & conduct a comprehensive “hands-on” maintenance section. The classroom session finishes with a written exam.
- Day 2 is spent in the field as a complete hands-on session, which includes an initial safety meeting, reviewing the Emergency Response Plan(ERP), three methods of starting the saw, site & weather hazard assessment/ controls, identifying bind, applying the basic bucking skills to address the bind, filing the chain, reinforcing safe handling/carrying skills, demonstrating & managing for kickback hazards. Throughout the day, the participant is continuously being monitored on the skills they are learning, which is recorded using a practical evaluation document.
Help Prevent Wildfires
Prescribed Burning
Apex has been involved with and in charge of several prescribed burns throughout BC. We supply a large portion of the equipment required along with personnel to execute the job.
Prescribed burning, also known as controlled burning or broadcast burning- is a controlled application of fire under specified weather conditions that helps restore the health of fire-adapted environments.
This application of fire safely reduces the excessive amounts of slash – brush, trees and shrubs – as well as encouraging the new growth of vegetation.
It also helps to maintain the plant and animal species whose habitats depend on periodic fire. Prescribed burning also helps to reduce the outbreak and spread of wildfires and prepares the site for planting new trees.