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Fireworks tips from Vancouver's emergency services

With hundreds of thousands of people converging in the West End, pack your patience along with your picnic
Honda Celebration of Lights crowd
Over the past year, the province grew by 70,763 persons.

The Honda Celebration of Light is just that — a celebration.

But with hundreds of thousands of people expected to gather along the shore of English Bay for each of the three nights of fireworks, things can go wrong.

Here’s some advice from local emergency services on how to ensure you’ll be shouting, “Oh, wow!” instead of “Oh, no!”

• chose a pre-planned gathering spot should you become separated from children or friends. A lot of the calls for help are about locating people who are lost.

• walk, bike or use transit to get to the West End. If you have to park your car somewhere, make sure you leave nothing inside. “Don’t tempt a thief,” says the Vancouver Police Department’s Jason Doucette. And don’t forget that temptation can be a telephone charging wire that can be sold for $5 on the street

• keep electronic devices out of sight (when you’re not using them to take photos of the glorious fireworks, of course.)

• pack your patience — and some water. Everything is going to take longer when you have that many people congregating in one neighbourhood. Give yourself more time for just about everything.

• follow @vancouverpd on Twitter for updates.

• don’t smoke. Not only is it polite but it’s also the rule on public beaches. Everything is getting tinder dry and a recent grass fire on Knight Street was caused by a tossed cigarette. If you’re caught smoking, the fine is $250.

• remember that TransLink has strict rules about open consumption of alcohol. That fine is also $230. To discretely report non-emergency situations enter 877777 on your mobile device.

• bring a flashlight. It will very dark after the fireworks.

• please clean up after yourself. West End residents are sharing their neighbourhood with you.

• if you need medical help, check out this map to find the closest medical station.

The Honda Celebration of Light website is chock full of all sorts of ways to make the most out of your fireworks experienc.