It was an eventful second quarter for firefighters in Burnaby.
According to the fire report for April, May and June, the department responded to about 200 more calls compared to January, February and March of this year.
The rise in incidents is due to an increase in every type of call, including vehicle fires, false alarms, rubbish and bush fires, accidental alarms, motor vehicle incidents, medical emergencies and public service calls, according to the fire report presented to council at its July 21 meeting.
The total number of incidents jumped from 3,380 to 3,579 and also included a slight rise in building fires – from 104 to 116 during the second quarter of this year, added the report.
Readers may recall three notable fires in the city this past quarter, the first in the backyard of a home in the 6000 block of 12th Avenue, the second in a highrise apartment building on Kingsway and the third in a low-rise on Augusta Avenue.
On May 14, Sid Bottomley and his friends and family were gathered in their backyard toasting Bottomley’s move to Alberta when his father poured an accelerant on the fire. As the NOW reported, the accelerant caused the fire to explode, burning Bottomley’s father and three guests.
Bottomley’s father and one guest sustained second-degree burns while the other two guests suffered third degree burns.
Burnaby assistant fire chief Lane Zimmerman confirmed with the NOW that the explosion was caused by pouring accelerant on to the fire.
In the case of the apartment fire at 7272 Kingsway on May 27, firefighters evacuated the entire building as they searched for the cause of the blaze, which was contained to one unit on the 12th floor. Investigators determined the fire, which destroyed the entire 12th floor unit, was the result of an old electrical outlet overloaded with a power bar and too many extension cords, acting Capt. Jeff Wilson told the NOW at the time.
Less than a month later, on June 17, firefighters were on scene of a blaze at a three-storey apartment building on Augusta Avenue.
Witnesses told the NOW that two roofers had been applying tar to the roof of the apartment building when the tar caught fire, sending billowing black smoke into the sky. Firefighters used the fire engine’s extendable ladder to reach the flames.
