Several fires intentionally set around Vancouver Wednesday: VFRS

Several dumpsters around Vancouver were set on fire Wednesday, according to officials.

Matt Trudeau with Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) says the dumpsters were spread out across the city, with reports coming in from Strathcona, the Downtown Eastside, downtown, and “even into the West End.”

“It seemed like there was seven to nine, basically, garbage can, dumpster fires in the area,” he told CityNews.

Reports of the fires were spread out over the course of a few hours between the morning and afternoon, Trudeau adds.

“Thankfully … the majority of them seemed to be isolated garbage cans away from structures. A couple of them were dumpsters right against buildings,” he explained. “Thankfully our crews were able to get on scene quickly, knock the fire down, and cool the dumpster and the walls that were exposed to it for adjacent buildings. There was no extension into properties.”

Numerous set fires in the Downtown Eastside yesterday, including several garbage cans and dumpsters.
This fire on the 600 BLK of Seymour Street was also intentionally set. @VancouverPD investigating. pic.twitter.com/2rfu22e5Tc

— Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (@VanFireRescue) June 8, 2023

Trudeau says these fires are concerning, adding they could have had far worse outcomes, especially given the hot and dry weather Vancouver has been experiencing.

“Small fires can quickly turn into large incidents from vegetation being ignited from embers or from radiant heat exposure. Even when buildings are non-combustible, there’s enough heat even to start [fires] and sometimes spread inside of buildings,” he said. “Obviously there is a significant concern for any kind of fire and any kind of set fire.”

The fires have also not resulted in any reported injuries.

So far, no suspects have been identified and Trudeau says police have been notified.

Vancouver fire sees ‘multiple occurrences’ in weeks

He admits dumpster or garbage can fires are not uncommon, adding there’s been a concerning trend.

“We’ve actually seen multiple occurrences of this where every few weeks, two or three weeks … where we’ll get a string of garbage can fires and dumpster fires in back alleys, on streets, coming basically from Strathcona and going to Granville, to the West End,” Trudeau said.

In addition to the several dumpsters and garbage cans that we ignited Wednesday, VFRS says crews were also called to the scene of a fire that was “intentionally set” in a building along Seymour Street.

The Vancouver Police Department is also investigating this incident.

Fire crews are urging anyone who may see something suspicious to report it to police.