GUELPH, ON, May 3, 2023 /CNW/ - This weekend and throughout the summer months, communities across Canada will come together to better prepare their homes, properties, and public spaces against the threat of wildland fire.

Saturday, May 6, is Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, an annual initiative of FireSmart^TM Canada and its partners, Co-operators, the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, and the National Fire Protection Association.

This year, more communities than ever have been awarded a $500 grant to be used towards Wildfire Community Preparedness Day projects and events--a demonstration of the growing urgency to better prepare and take action against the threat of wildland fire.

Since 2015, 975 communities--including 230 communities across 10 provinces and two territories in 2023--have received an award to raise awareness of wildfire risk and increase their community's resilience.

"Our lifestyles are expanding more than ever into forested and grassland areas, which means that we all must learn to become more resilient to the threat of wildland fire. This is what FireSmart is all about," says FireSmart Canada Director, Ray Ault. "Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is a great way for communities to start implementing FireSmart principles in their neighbourhoods and develop long-term prevention and mitigation strategies."

FireSmart Canada's longstanding partners support Wildfire Community Preparedness Day through funding, logistics, promotion, and diverse perspectives that help in the development of strategies and initiatives.

"As a founding member, we are extremely proud of Wildfire Community Preparedness Day and its continued growth over the last eight years," says Maya Milardovic, Associate Vice President of Government Relations at Co-operators. "As an insurer, we see first-hand the devastating impacts of wildfire on people's property, businesses, and mental health, so we are thrilled more communities than ever before will have the opportunity to better prepare, prevent and protect themselves against wildfire risks."

Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is for everyone, and we encourage families, individuals and community groups to participate by learning about FireSmart principles and taking simple but effective actions around their homes and properties to reduce their wildfire risk.

To learn more about Wildfire Community Preparedness Day, wildland fire resilience and FireSmart initiatives, visit www.firesmartcanada.ca.

FireSmart Canada™ is a program committed to helping Canadians reduce their wildland fire risk and become resilient to wildland fire through community-based solutions. Through publications, programs, outreach training, and workshops, FireSmart Canada provides tools for Canadians to be pro-active in preparing their homes, properties and neighborhoods for the threat of wildland fire. FireSmart Canada operates under a mandate from the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre, and is supported by federal, provincial, and territorial wildland fire management agencies and partners with municipal governments and the private sector. For more information visit www.firesmartcanada.ca.

Co-operators is a leading Canadian financial services co-operative, offering multi-line insurance and investment products, services, and personalized advice to help Canadians build their financial strength and security. Co-operators has more than $58.2 billion in assets under administration. Co-operators has been providing trusted guidance to Canadians for the past 78 years. The organization is well known for its community involvement and its commitment to sustainability. Achieving carbon neutral equivalency in 2020, the organization is committed to net-zero emissions in its operations and investments by 2040, and 2050, respectively. Co- operators is also ranked as a Corporate Knights' Best 50 Corporate Citizen in Canada. For more information, please visit www.cooperators.ca.

The National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) is a global not-for-profit organization, established in 1896, devoted to eliminating death, injury, property and economic loss due to fire, electrical and related hazards. NFPA delivers information and knowledge through codes and standards, research, training, education, outreach and advocacy, and by partnering with others who share an interest in furthering our mission. NFPA's mission is to help save lives and reduce loss with information, knowledge and passion. Wildfire Community Preparedness Day is based on or adapted from materials provided and owned by the National Fire Protection Association. For more information visit www.nfpa.org

Established in 1998 by Canada's property and casualty insurers, ICLR is an independent, not-for-profit research institute based in Toronto and at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada. ICLR is a centre of excellence for disaster loss prevention research and education. ICLR's research staff is internationally recognized for pioneering work in a number of fields including wind and seismic engineering, atmospheric sciences, water resources engineering and economics. Multi-disciplined research is a foundation for ICLR's work to build communities more resilient to disasters. Visit www.iclr.org

For more information:

Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre Media Relations
media@ciffc.ca

Co-operators Media Relations
media@cooperators.ca

FireSmart, Intelli-feu and other associated Marks are trademarks of the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. 

SOURCE The Co-operators Group Limited