Fredericton fire crews are attributing two close calls in the capital city on Thursday to improperly disposed of smoking materials.
The first blaze happened at a Fredericton grocery store. An off-duty firefighter was able to get the quick-moving fire under control.
“The paper and the chairs are almost all consumed on a second pallet and had started to burn into a second one and actually damaged the window there, so that was our initial call,” says Lieut. Cameron Dunn of the Fredericton Fire Department.
A few hours later, firefighters were responding to another smoking-related call on a deck. Lieut. Dunn says it’s a common occurrence.
“I would say in the top two or three would smoking material and cooking and then electrical issues with devices and stuff, but smoking materials is a continual concern for us,” he says.
It’s a worry in the forest, as well. New Brunswick wildfire prevention officer Roger Collett says people who work in wooded areas are warned that it doesn't take much to ignite a fire, but that not everybody may be aware.
“Especially in those urban interface areas, especially with homes in forested areas. It's definitely a factor,” Lieut. Dunn says.
Fire officials say smokers should put any discarded smoking material in a deep, sturdy ashtray.
“The wind was allowing the embers to stay alive even after being disposed of,” says Lieut. Dunn, “and then of course that contact with any type of a good combustibles and off we go to a decent sized fire right away.”
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Nick Moore.
