Small bush fire calls keeping Nanaimo Fire Rescue engines rolling

It makes typically grassy areas on the side of roads particularly prone to igniting with the help of a discarded, lit cigarette.

Whiting said people often think a cigarette dropped on a road or pathway is not a fire danger, however, the objects are easily moved by the wind and can find dry grass very quickly.

The issue is present across the city.

“Just because of traffic volumes, those types of cigarettes that get thrown out car windows, we would probably get more along busier routes where traffic is heavier. No matter where people are, they have to be aware.”

Many calls for service this time of year also related to smoke coming from planter boxes.

“They think of planters as filled with dirt, but a lot of times they’re filled with bark mulch. Bark mulch is wood and it will burn so cigarettes in bark mulch will often smoulder for a few days then eventually start a fire,” Whiting said. “We’ve seen people lose their houses because of fires like that.”

He said it’s important for people to discard their smoking materials properly and not leave any opportunity for a fire to start, which taxes firefighters already dealing with extensive safety equipment in high heat and a high volume of calls.

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by Alex Rawnsley

Small bush fire calls keeping Nanaimo Fire Rescue engines rolling

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