Vancouver Fire Rescue Services looking at restriction on butane torches

In the midst of a historic year for structure fires in the city, Vancouver Fire Rescue Services (VFRS) is pointing to butane torches as a major culprit for starting these blazes.

With a lot of these fires starting at single-room occupancy (SRO) units on the Downtown Eastside, Fire Information Officer Matt Trudeau says the flame-locking mechanism equipped torches are something the department is looking further into.

He explains that VFRS hopes to either eliminate these locks before they’re sold or completely ban the item.

“These devices are everywhere. Drug users — however they’re using it to cook their drugs — when they do overdose, they drop it and that torch stays locked on,” he said.

“We’ve got someone overdosing, which is worse enough. Now we’re having a unit fire with them in it.”

Trudeau says VFRS is working to get a lot of groups involved in finding a way to control these torches, as they are “directly harming people just from having this lock.”

He adds that this effort comes in hopes of protecting vulnerable people and reducing SRO fires.

In August, VFRS said the city had seen an alarming increase in fire incidents in 2023, with officials saying reported fires in the first half of the year marked a 31 per cent increase from the year prior.

At the time, Trudeau said the increase in calls was putting a strain on crews and the fire service as a whole.