Discarded cigarette leads to massive backyard blaze in North Vancouver

Firefighters in the District of North Vancouver are demonstrating how easily fires can start during the dry conditions that plague the province.

On Thursday, the District of North Vancouver Fire Rescue Services shared video footage showing a massive blaze at a home in the city that was started by a cigarette that had been discarded six hours beforehand.

“Smoking materials can rapidly ignite and cause significant damage and fires in our residential areas,” said Chief Brian Hutchinson in the video address.

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Video footage of the incident, which was captured on July 3, shows a worker in the backyard of a home throwing what appears to be a cigarette into a large hedge.

Jumping ahead a few hours, the video shows a small flame beginning to burn, which then turns into a massive blaze that engulfs the entire shrub. The homeowners can be seen attempting to put out the fire with garden hoses.

“While the residents are doing a phenomenal job of trying to mitigate the fire and call 9-1-1, this had the potential to progress into a significant event,” Hutchinson added.

“That cigarette sat smouldering in that area underneath the shrubs for just over six hours.”

Last week, the District of North Vancouver moved its fire danger rating from “high” to “extreme.”

“We’re asking the public to be extremely diligent and aware and to be mindful of anything that may cause a fire in our wildland and urban interface areas,” Hutchinson said.