Watch where you stub out that smoke: Crews warn of increased fire risk as temperatures rise
Posted May 6, 2019 10:16 am.
Last Updated May 6, 2019 10:17 am.
This article is more than 5 years old.
VANCOUVER (NEWS 1130) – Have you noticed people flicking their cigarette butts out car windows during your commute? What about someone butting out in a planter box?
With temperatures rising and the summer season quickly approaching, fire crews are raising concerns about potential grass fires started by someone carelessly discarding of their cigarettes or joints.
In Vancouver, firefighters are called to these types of situations hundreds of times every summer.
“I think people fail to recognize the danger of flicking cigarette butts out of their car window because more often than not, the butt lands in vegetation or mulch, and obviously doesn’t start a fire right away, but it sits there and smolders and then we get called to the fire 20 minutes, half an hour later,” Vancouver Fire Captain Jonathan Gormick explains.
The fire is just one aspect of this story; Gormick says these kinds of calls suck up a lot of resources.
“They pull resources away from medical calls, from other fires, and it’s disappointing because it’s an entirely preventable fire,” he adds.
The majority of calls that involve outdoor fires are normally associated with someone butting-out in planter boxes, Gormick says.
“People think it’s appropriate to stub out their cigarette in a planter box, on the sidewalk, on a balcony, but even the dirt in those is fairly full of organic material and that’s what starts burning.”
Basically, anywhere there’s vegetation is not appropriate for a cigarette butt or joint.
Fire crews are pleading with smokers to help them out by disposing of their smoking materials properly and responsibly.
Anyone caught not doing so can face a hefty fine.
“It’s such a hazard that two years ago we implemented a higher bylaw fine for that, specifically, because the one associated with littering didn’t really reflect the degree of danger. So now those caught improperly disposing of smoking material can be fined up to $500.”
