A brief history of the Pilot Mountain Volunteer Fire Department
Residents first started discussing fire protection for our area in 1989. It wasn’t until 1994 that they had success in being approved to do a feasibility study, and the organizers at that time chose Pilot Mountain as the name for their proposed volunteer fire department.
In 1995 residents in the area were surveyed, and a referendum was held and passed. In 1996 Eugene and Shirley Symbalisty donated the property for the fire hall site. It took a lot of committees to get things done, including training, fire truck, equipment, management, and building. Numerous volunteers and donations made it possible for the fire hall to be completed at approximately $100,000 under budget. It was in 1996 that the newly formed volunteer fire department responded to its first call, and they have been protecting the Pilot Mountain area ever since.
The first Pilot Mountain Fire Chief elected was Ed Bradbury, who served from 1996 to 1997, and then moved to Kelowna. The second Fire Chief was Stephen Sinclair who served part of 1997 before moving to Kamloops. The third Fire Chief was Jim Swan who served from 1997 until 2011 when he retired. The fourth Fire Chief was Gil Lainey who served from 2011 – 2015. The fifth Fire Chief was Dan Floria who served from 2016 until his retirement in 2019. Gil Lainey returned to serve Pilot Mountain in 2019, and retired in 2020. Our current chief is Ron Ammundsen.