West Kelowna should hire 10 more firefighters in the next three years, city councillors will hear Tuesday.

The extra staffing is required, in large part, in case high-rise buildings are ever built in West Kelowna, municipal staff say. “Fires on higher floors of larger buildings represent an extraordinary challenge to fire departments,” reads part of a staff report to council.

“These are some of the most complex incidents a fire department will encounter,” it says.

Two years ago, city council revised municipal plans to allow for taller buildings. Currently, no residential buildings of more than seven storeys exist or have been approved in West Kelowna.

The revision to the official community plan set building heights in central Westbank at 15 storeys, with a 12-storey maximum in the Bouc

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