The building
A two-storey residence on Fortune Drive on Kamloops’ North Shore, originally built in the 1950s and fully renovated in 2022. It has 28 suites, a reception area, offices, a lounge and amenity space, a laundry room, a garage, and a commercial kitchen that serves the residents. The basement holds storage rooms and a crawlspace, and the second floor has a rooftop deck. The roof is a mix of metal and flat sections.
The Fire Code classifies it as a Group C residential occupancy, but the commercial kitchen and the shared living model mean it behaves more like a small care facility for planning purposes: staff on site, residents who may need direction in an emergency, and a cooking operation that needs its own fire suppression procedures.
What Kamloops Fire Rescue asks for
Kamloops has one of the most specific plan guidelines in BC. The fire safety plan and a separate pre-incident plan are submitted as two PDFs to the department’s fire safety plans inbox. Both sets of drawings must use the Kamloops Fire Rescue symbol library, the binder must be red with Verdana text at 14-point headings and 12-point body, and the department wants colour photographs of the alarm panel, the electrical disconnect, the gas shut-off, the hydrants, and every fire protection system. The pre-incident plan is loaded onto the computers in the fire apparatus, so the drawings have to be legible on a screen in a truck, not just on paper.
What made this plan different
- Every suite exits directly outside. Suites on both levels open to the exterior rather than into a corridor, which simplifies evacuation but changes the assembly-area logic. The plan sets one assembly point clear of the fire department’s approach from Vernon Avenue and gives staff a headcount procedure that works when residents leave from a dozen doors at once.
- The alarm panel is outside. The main panel sits in an electrical room on the northeast side with exterior access only. That is convenient for arriving crews and awkward for staff, so the plan’s reset instructions and the pre-incident drawings both flag the exterior door and the key location.
- A commercial kitchen inside a residence. The kitchen has a wet chemical suppression system with a manual pull, a Class K extinguisher, and a daily, weekly, monthly, and semi-annual inspection routine. Every kitchen worker signs a training record before their first shift, and the record lives in the plan.
- Sprinklers plus battery emergency lighting. The plan documents the sprinkler system, the monitoring company, and the emergency lighting that covers the exit signs, stairs, corridors, and lobby, with the test and service intervals for each.
What the plan includes
- Fire department information section with the building description, access route, hydrant locations, and roof access
- 11 by 17 colour drawings for the basement, Level 1, and Level 2 in the Kamloops symbol set, plus the separate pre-incident plan drawings
- Fire Safety Director and Deputy appointments, staff duties, and instructions to residents
- Inspection, testing, and maintenance schedules for the alarm, sprinklers, kitchen suppression, extinguishers, and emergency lighting
- Kitchen inspection reports and the staff training log
- Fire drill procedure and report forms, kept in the binder for two years
Result
Both PDFs were submitted to Kamloops Fire Rescue and accepted, and the acceptance letter now sits at the front of the red binder in the building’s fire safety plan box, as the City’s 2026 lock box and plan box policy requires. Wall plaques for the corridors were produced from the same drawings.
Need a plan for a residence, care home, or supportive housing building in Kamloops? See our Kamloops fire safety plan page or request a quote.
Need a fire safety plan in Kamloops?
GetFirePlan prepares CAD-designed fire safety plans accepted by the fire department, with one flat fee and an approval guarantee.
- Fire safety plans in Kamloops
- Fire safety plan services across BC
- Fire safety plan cost in BC (2026)
- Get a quote — reply within one business day