The Grande Prairie Fire Department is urging residents to pay attention when disposing smoking materials.
The GPFD says that over the last 48 hours, they have responded to four different fires. The department added that they have been seeing a significant increase in human-caused fires across the community in the recent weeks. GPFD added that they suspect that nearly all of the incidents have came from improperly discarded smoking materials.
While no injuries or fatalities have been reported, multiple residents have been displaced, and property losses have reached into the hundreds of thousands of dollars.
“The losses we’ve seen due to human-caused fires are preventable and the consequences are significant,” said Grande Prairie Fire Chief, Mark VanWerkhoven. “In current conditions, a cigarette flicked out a vehicle window or off a balcony can have catastrophic impacts. Regretfully, we’ve seen these impacts firsthand in recent weeks. We are urgently asking residents to be mindful of the danger and help prevent any further loss in our community.”
The Fire Department is reminding residents to never discard smoking materials in planters, flowerpots, landscaping, grass, garbage cans or off balconies and decks. The GPFD says smoking materials should always be fully extinguished and disposed of in a deep, sturdy ashtray or non-combustible container filled with sand or water.
Residents are also reminded that there are no fire alarms outdoors, meaning fires caused by discarded smoking materials can grow quickly before being discovered.
Current fire conditions in the Grande Prairie region remain very high to extreme, increasing the risk of fires spreading quickly and causing serious damage.
