There's more to fighting fires than just extinguishing them.

Wayne Belcaen believes it's time for the city to take a more preventive role in battling the small bush fires local residents have in some popular spots around town that are not meant for campfires.

"I know what a spark can do,” Belcaen told city council at its meeting Monday evening.

It would be very easy for those small campfires to turn into major blazes next door to residential neighbourhoods, he noted.

Balcaen is a member of Citizens On Patrol (COP), a volunteer organization which patrols the community and reports any suspicious activities to RCMP.

He said he has major concerns about what he views as a lack of signs showing where fires are not allowed and the lack of ability to punish those who burn fires where they shouldn't.

"Chadburn Lake is my biggest concern,” Balcaen said.

He also cited many other areas within city limits where there are problem campfires. Those include the Cousins Airstrip, Long Lake Road, the bus turnaround on Range Road, Grey Mountain, greenspace near Alsek Road in Riverdale and Hidden Lake in Porter Creek.

A few old, worn signs remain in the area, but are too small to notice, council heard.

While some new signs were added during the city-wide fire ban last month, "the fires continue,” he argued.

The signs could have been in much better locations with the COP members having to go search for them, Belcaen said.

He argued a larger sign should be placed at the entrance to major areas that are heavily used for small campfires, such as Chadburn Lake.

On a number of occasions, Belcaen has had to inform people himself that fires aren't allowed in the areas, with many agreeing to put out their fires, but stating they were unaware that it wasn't allowed.

When there is a sign in place, it is often so tattered that people don't even attempt to read it, Belcaen said.

New signs with clear lettering could go a long way to preventing fires, he suggested.

When it doesn't, Belcaen also proposed levying fines against those guilty of burning in such areas.

He pointed out he's never heard of anyone being fined for burning in those areas and believes it's time to start.

Coun. Florence Roberts asked whether there's anything in place to allow it to charge those who are burning in order to recoup the cost of the call-out.

Brian Crist, the city's director of operations, said he believes there is, though he will look into it further and report back to council.

"Let's do something about it,” Belcaen said of the situation, also informing council members he'd be happy to take them to the areas he was speaking of.

And while city firefighters were patrolling areas during the fire ban, Belcaen questioned whether doing that long-term would be a good use of city resources.

That left some councillors wondering about whether bylaw officers could take on some of the patrolling and their ability to deal with offenders.

"We don't have handcuffs or anything,” Coun. Dave Stockdale said of city bylaw officers.

As director of administrative services Rob Fendrick pointed out though, bylaw officers can make a citizens' arrest, as can anyone in the general public, then contact the RCMP for enforcement.

Bylaws are generally enforced on a complaint basis, though the city does have a bylaw officer who focuses on greenbelts and trails around town.

"This is a question of resources,” Fendrick said of bylaw officers' involvement.

Meanwhile, Coun. Ranj Pillai asked that an analysis be done on how much it is costing the fire department to respond to bush fire calls.

City staff also noted that new signs would come at a significant cost. Belcaen noted that he didn't expect new signs everywhere, but they would be a benefit in some major areas.

He also suggested an education campaign on the matter. City staff, for example, could get school principals to relay the message to their students.

That would be of particular importance in the case of F.H. Collins Secondary School in Riverdale, with a number of fires built behind the school, he said.

Belcaen acknowledged that there's "not a hope in hell” of completely stopping people from lighting bush fires, but suggested the number could be significantly reduced by taking action.