Richmond Fire-Rescue has seen a marked reduction in the number of fires caused by dropped cigarettes this summer compared to last summer, but they say the number is still too high.
At a media tour of the new Brighouse Fire Hall #1 on Thursday, community relations officer Brian MacLeod said that when the fire department started “The World Is Not Your Ashtray” campaign last summer, they were seeing an average of nearly three calls per day due to cigarette-related fires.
This summer, that number has dropped to 1.5 calls per day.
MacLeod said it’s still too many calls about preventable fires, but is glad to see the reduction.
“We want to thank the public for their help and support, and we want to make sure that they continue spreading the word,” he said.
One of the reasons behind the reduction could be due to extra effort by Vancouver International Airport. Typically, Richmond Fire-Rescue sees many calls about cigarette-caused fires there.
“With an international airport, you’ve got people coming from countries that smoke much more,” MacLeod said. “When you get off a seven to 10 hour flight, the first thing you want to do is light up.”
But the problem is those discarded butts end up in bark mulch around the airport, starting fires.
But this year, YVR has “really stepped up,” MacLeod said, adding more signage and turning their sprinklers on more often.
Another issue is that people landing at the airport often bring in cigarettes from abroad, which aren’t fire safe.
Canada was the first country to adopt fire safe cigarette rules, MacLeod said. That means cigarettes here are made with rings of thicker paper that act as speed bumps as they burn. If a person isn’t actively inhaling, the cigarette will go out when the flame hits that ring.
That’s not the case, though, with cigarettes from around the world.
“Once you light it, it burns through its whole capacity right through to the filter sponge,” he said. “It’s a longer and hotter burning period.”
