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When faced with fire: Building business resilience for wildfire events in Canada

Canada continues to experience its worst wildfire season on record, with fires engulfing areas of all 13 provinces and territories. Even as the traditional wildfire season draws to a close for most parts of the country, it is possible that ongoing warm and dry weather may contribute to blazes remaining active into winter.

10/17/2023 · 4 minute read

Canada continues to experience its worst wildfire season on record, with fires engulfing areas of all 13 provinces and territories. Even as the traditional wildfire season draws to a close for most parts of the country, it is possible that ongoing warm and dry weather may contribute to blazes remaining active into winter. With this situation in mind, it is crucial for Canadian businesses to consider how they can improve their business resilience and limit wildfire-associated disruptions.

In our third episode of When faced with fire, a three part podcast series where we explore Canada’s wildfire risk, Ritch Seeley, a managing director within Marsh Advisory Canada, chats with George Fan, who is their lead consultant for natural catastrophe and climate risks. They are joined by Kevin Gordon, a senior vice president for Marsh Advisory Canada, specializing in business continuity management, and Matt Zuccato, national practice leader for Alternative Risk Solutions Canada.

They discuss ways to improve your business resilience through site preparedness and response, business continuity, and supply chain management. They also shed light on how alternative insurance solutions may be used to support your current insurance program.

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Key takeaways

Understand your wildfire risk

This assessment provides a foundational basis that allows you to put together a tailored wildfire response plan, take better care of your people during an event, and take preventative actions to reduce your wildfire risk.

Validate your resilience to wildfire business interruption risks

It is crucial for organizations to determine their resilience to interruption risks and validate their business continuity capabilities. A strong business continuity plan focuses on five key elements: employees, facilities and infrastructure, supply chain, critical equipment, and IT systems.

Consider alternative risk solutions

If you're concerned about the potential impact of high severity losses due to wildfire, parametric insurance may complement your existing insurance. With a parametric product, you may be able to cover certain underinsured or uninsurable risks, enhance your liquidity, and reduce revenue volatility.

Resources

The Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS) gives you insight into when and how a wildfire may be approaching your site by providing daily fire weather and fire behavior maps year-round.

FireSmart™ Canada helps you lessen your wildfire risk by offering resources that address common concerns about wildfire in the wildland urban interface.

FM Global provides reports and data sheets that can help you protect and prepare yourself against wildfire risk with recommendations on how to mitigate your exposure.

Although the National Fire Protection Association’s (NFPA) standards for wildland fire management are not publicly available, NFPA’s wildfire division offers many free resources, such as fact sheets and online trainings, which can help you reduce your risks of damage and loss due to wildfire.

In 2022, The United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) released a report calling for a new risk mitigation and wildfire management strategy recognizing that we can minimize the risk of extreme wildfires by being better prepared and building back better in their aftermath. By employing its 5Rs framework, organizations can better develop a holistic wildfire response plan.

About our speakers

Other podcasts in the series

When faced with fire: Responding to Canada’s wildfire risk

When faced with fire: How climate change could affect Canada’s wildfire risk

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