ABOUT US
FIRST NATIONS’ EMERGENCY SERVICES SOCIETY OF BRITISH COLUMBIA (FNESS) IS A CHARITABLE NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION INCORPORATED UNDER THE SOCIETY ACT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA.
With the support of the First Nation Leadership Council, FNESS is the organization that communities reach out to for support and delivery of essential emergency and forest fuel management programs and services.
FNESS evolved from the Society of Native Indian Fire Fighters of BC (SNIFF), which was established in 1986. SNIFF’s initial objectives were to help reduce the number of fire-related deaths on First Nation reserves, but changed its emphasis to incorporate a greater spectrum of emergency services. In 1994, SNIFF changed its name to First Nations’ Emergency Services Society of BC to reflect its growing diversity of services provided.
The FNESS logo was designed in 1986 by artist Tom Stewart of Kitimat, BC at the age of 15. The logo represents the vision of a firefighter. The iris of the eye portrays the legendary fire moon spewing water onto the eye of the fire. The circle represents First Nations.
First Nations’ Emergency Services Society believes in treating our membership, staff, clients, consultants and external organizations with integrity, respect, fairness and honesty.
Through leadership and wisdom, FNESS believes in recognizing the cultural diversity of all those involved. Working as a team to deliver programs, we are committed to being an open, credible, sincere and trustworthy organization.
OUR VISION
Safe and Healthy First Nation Communities
OUR MISSION
FNESS serves First Nations in developing and sustaining safer and healthier
communities through:
Fire training, education and prevention
Forest fuel and wildfire management
Leadership and collaborative relationships
OUR VALUES
COURAGE
Strength and curiosity while determining the most beneficial actions with communities.
HONESTY
Open and transparent environments in all actions.
INTEGRITY
Consistent and accountable for all actions, assessing and adapting as needed.
PASSION
Acknowledging enthusiasm and initiative; rewarding success
regularly.
RESPECT
Inclusiveness and teamwork that allows fairness, balance, and harmony in all activities; appreciative of all
cultural diversities.
TRUSTWORTHINESS
Providing credible and state-of-the-art recognized services.
WANT TO LEARN MORE?
Check out our Resources page for a library of useful documents,
or visit our News page to keep up with the latest from FNESS
