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While fires caused by cigarette butts have decreased significantly over the last few years in Richmond, 2021 represented a slight increase.
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Cigarette fires increased slightly in 2021
By Hannah Scott, Local Journalism Initiative reporter
Published 2:30 PST, Fri February 25, 2022
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Throughout 2021, Richmond had a total of 134 fires, with 49 caused by carelessly discarded cigarettes.
In 2020, there were 109 fires, 31 of which were caused by cigarettes. In a report submitted in advance of February’s community safety committee meeting, staff said the increase was likely due to the extreme weather during the summer months.
According to data collected by Richmond Fire-Rescue, cigarette fires were more prevalent in past years, with 137 recorded in 2017 and 110 in 2018.
“Typically the majority of discarded cigarettes caused fires in the medians in the middle of the roadways where there is bark mulch or dry grass, on the side of the roads, (or) sometimes in small garbage containers,” said deputy fire chief Jim Wishlove during the committee meeting.
“It’s rare, but occasionally a homeowner may experience a fire on a patio or in a backyard that can be caused from the cigarette smoking over a number of hours. It would start a fire that wouldn’t be noticed until it was significant enough for somebody to call,” he added.
This year, Richmond Fire-Rescue staff will re-evaluate the public awareness campaign, to further educate the public about the dangers of carelessly discarded cigarettes.
There is also a local program to distribute free portable cigarette extinguishers. Wishlove said a number are available in the Fire-Rescue inventory, and there haven’t been any reports of people turning them back in.
In the same staff report submitted to the community safety committee, Richmond Fire-Rescue noted that total incident volumes in 2021 returned to normal levels, after a drop in 2020 due to provincial health orders and the medical health officer’s direction.
“The impacts of the pandemic on call volumes during 2020 resulted in Richmond Fire-Rescue management pivoting staff to learning, development and preparedness activities,” the report said.
Medical first responder incidents are also returning to normal levels.
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