B.C. sees 'very concerning increase' in fires and fire-related deaths amid pandemic
Five-year-old Enzo Wilson died from severe burns he suffered after a fire ripped through his family’s Duncan, B.C., home on Halloween in 2021.
The little boy was one of 11 people on Vancouver Island who died from house fire-related injuries in the last year.
Three of those deaths were from house fires in Victoria — including a fire at an apartment complex in James Bay, also in October.
Overall, 59 people died from house fire-related injuries in B.C. in 2021, a significant spike and a disturbing province-wide trend that was revealed by B.C.’s Fire Commissioner, Brian Godlongton, on Wednesday at a press conference at the B.C. Legislature.
"Over the last few years, we’ve seen a very concerning increase in fires," said Godlongton.
That increase has sparked a new fire prevention tool that was announced Wednesday — a dashboard created through a partnership between Statistics Canada and B.C.’s Fire Commission.
The dashboard will track and show where fires are striking so resources can best be deployed.
Langford Fire Chief Chris Aubrey said Wednesday that the new dashboard, which is being rolled out as a pilot project in several B.C. communities this summer, will be a helpful tool.
"[We'll] track what issues are specific to their communities, and be able to tailor education programs and initiatives to be able to combat those," he said.
HOUSE FIRE CAUSES
There has indeed been plenty of fires to combat since the pandemic began.
In 2021, house fires in B.C. increased by 33 per cent from 2019, and deaths from those house fires were up even more — an astounding 119 per cent in 2021, over 2019.
Those house fires were mainly caused by cooking equipment, smoking materials and open flames, said Godlongton.
The fires came during a time when more people were spending time at home, including working from home, because of the pandemic.
"We can largely attribute this increase of injuries and deaths to people spending more time at home due to the COVID-19 pandemic," he said.
The pandemic problem hit the island — and notably Victoria — where there was a 40 per cent increase structure blazes in 2020, according to Victoria’s Acting Fire Chief, Dan Atkinson.
"Lack of eating out at restaurants," Atkinson said, noting more people were at home and restaurants were largely shuttered at the start of the pandemic.
"Where we saw that big increase was unattended cooking," he said.
ARSON AND SMOKE ALARMS
Also on the rise are arson cases, like the still unsolved one in Victoria’s North Park neighbourhood this spring, which forced a Ukrainian Catholic priest and his young family to flee their home.
"Certainly an issue, certainly an increase in that," said Godlongton about arsons being on the rise in B.C. and across Canada.
Another worrisome factor revealed Wednesday is that no working smoke alarms were found in nearly half of the homes where a fire was reported over the past two years.
"It is concerning, we do go to a lot of calls and find the smoke alarm isn't working," said Aubrey.
"Simply having a working alarm in your house improves your life safety by 74 per cent," he said.
The pilot project begins this July, and will be expanded the following year.
With 33 deaths from house fire-related injuries in B.C. already this year, including two on Vancouver Island, the hope is the new dashboard will make an impact on this concerning trend.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
Half of Canadians have negative opinion of latest Liberal budget: poll
A new poll suggests the Liberals have not won over voters with their latest budget, though there is broad support for their plan to build millions of homes.
opinion Why you should protect your investments by naming a trusted contact person
Appointing a trusted person to help with financial obligations can give you peace of mind. In his personal finance column for CTVNews.ca, Christopher Liew outlines the key benefits of naming a confidant to take over your financial responsibilities, if the need ever arises.
Teacher shortages see some Ontario high school students awarded perfect grades on midterm exams
Students at a high school in York Region have been awarded perfect marks on their midterm exams in three subjects – not because of their academic performances however, but because they had no teacher.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
Doctors combine a pig kidney transplant and a heart device in a bid to extend woman's life
Doctors have transplanted a pig kidney into a New Jersey woman who was near death, part of a dramatic pair of surgeries that also stabilized her failing heart.
Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired
A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.
Ottawa injects another $36M into vaccine injury compensation fund
The federal government has added $36.4 million to a program designed to support people who have been seriously injured or killed by vaccines since the end of 2020.
An Ontario senior thought he called Geek Squad for help with his printer. Instead, he got scammed out of $25,000
An Ontario senior’s attempt to get technical help online led him into a spoofing scam where he lost $25,000. Now, he’s sharing his story to warn others.