‘It was a team decision’: Fireworks in Riverview, N.B., cause grass fire during burn ban

A small fire broke out during a Canada Day fireworks display in Riverview, N.B. (Source: Infinity Aerials)

A small fire broke out during a Canada Day fireworks display in Riverview, N.B., Wednesday night even though the area was under a provincial burning restriction.

Riverview Fire and Rescue Chief Robin True said they received a call of a grass fire on the marsh of the Petitcodiac River at 10:15 p.m.

The fireworks were part of the City of Moncton’s holiday celebration.

The grass fire could clearly be seen during the fireworks event in a drone video provided to CTV News by Infinity Aerials.

True said it took an hour for around 18 firefighters from Moncton and Riverview to put out the fire.

The decision not to postpone the fireworks was made by the municipalities of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe, he said.

“It was a team decision,” said True. “We did have a meeting yesterday afternoon and certainly we were aware of the conditions, but for us it’s a matter of assessing the risk and deciding if we have the appropriate risk-mediation measures in place which we deemed that we did. Of course, a small fire did occur, and we had the resources there to combat it.”

Fireworks displays in the communities of Hillsborough and Alma were postponed due to the province’s fire ban.

The City of Moncton stated in a social media post Wednesday that all three fire departments had reviewed the safety plan of the event and deemed it safe to proceed.

The city did remind residents the fire ban remained in effect for the area and all other outdoor burning activities are prohibited.

City of Moncton spokesperson Aloma Jardine said the decision to go ahead with the event was made jointly by the fire chiefs of Moncton, Riverview and Dieppe after they met Wednesday afternoon.

“They reviewed the event safety plan prior to the event and, recognizing the elevated fire risk, implemented additional response measures,” said Jardine in an email.

Jardine said firefighters were on site at the time of the fireworks, and the departments from Moncton and Dieppe coordinated resources to make sure there could be a rapid response if required.

“All three felt the event could go ahead safely with the resources that were in place, taking into account the conditions at that time,” said Jardine.

True said the provincial fire ban is in relation to Category 1 burning, which is part of the provincial system.

“In Riverview, there’s no language that speaks directly to the relationship of fireworks in relationship to the fire ban that’s published by the province,” said True.

In an email to CTV News, Department of Natural Resources spokesperson Valerie Kilfoil said representatives from each community did reach out for advice before the evening event.

Kilfoil said Category 1 burning applies to things such as campfires or small brush piles, but not fireworks.

“The department does work closely with its partners across the province including cities and towns,” said Kilfoil. “While ultimately, it is the municipalities decision to go ahead, the department was confident that each municipality was fully prepared with onsite fire suppression and safety measures and a plan in place.”

True said fires have happened in the same area before during Canada Day celebrations.

“It’s very common and that’s why in a lot of municipalities of course there’s provisions not to have people just randomly firing off fireworks in their backyard because yes, there is always a high inherent risk of fires occurring with relationship to fireworks when you have embers and stuff dropping on the ground and no control over where those land,” said True. “You have to have a plan in place to combat that.”

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