Attention Block Watch Members,
On Tuesday, October 27th the Surrey RCMP, City of Surrey Bylaws, Fraser Health, and the BC RCMP’s Explosive Disposal Unit (EDU) participated in a public awareness event to bring attention to Halloween safety, particularly fireworks safety, to ensure a fun Halloween night for families and trick-or-treaters this Saturday.
“This Halloween the Surrey RCMP will have extra resources actively patrolling the City and dealing with any public safety concerns that may arise,” says Surrey RCMP Corporal Scotty Schumann. “Last Halloween, we saw a 25% increase in calls for service compared to the year before. One third of these calls were fireworks related.”
“In collaboration with the Surrey RCMP, City of Surrey Bylaws Enforcement is actively targeting the illegal sales of fireworks and firecrackers during the Halloween season,” says Jas Rehal, Manager, City of Surrey Bylaws. “Thousands of fireworks and firecrackers have already been seized along with a number of fines issued to those vendors found illegally unloading their product online and via social media.”
As part of the event, the BC RCMP’s EDU conducted a live explosive demonstration to illustrate the dangers that fireworks and firecrackers pose.
“We see many firework injuries at Surrey Memorial Hospital in both adults and children,” says Doctor Craig Murray, Emergency Physician at Surrey Memorial Hospital. “Fireworks should not be thought of as toys, but devices that can cause serious burns and injuries to fingers, hands, the face and eyes.”
First responders in Surrey are asking parents to talk to their kids about the dangers of fireworks and the fines involved for illegally possessing and exploding them. The City of Surrey restricts the use of any type of fireworks all year round to only those who have applied for and been granted the appropriate permit by the Surrey Fire Service. If you are caught without a permit it will cost you, whatever your age. It could also cost you in other ways including personal injury or criminal charges.
If you have safety concerns regarding the misuse of fireworks in your neighbourhood please call the Surrey RCMP’s non-emergency number at 604-599-0502. Please be as specific as you can when describing your complaint and remember that 9-1-1 is for emergency use only and not as a re-direct to the non-emergency numbers.
For information on fireworks permits please visit the City of Surrey’s website. For a full list of Halloween safety tips for you and your family please visit the RCMP’s website.
ASHLEY SOUSA
CRIME PREVENTION PROGRAMS COORDINATOR
COORDONNATEUR DES PROGRAMMES DE LA PRÉVENTION DU CRIME
Surrey RCMP District 5 | GRC De Surrey District 5
South Surrey
100-1815 152nd Street, Surrey, BC V4A 9Y9
T: 604-599-7862
F: 604-538-6098