The Burnaby Fire Department reported one death in its most recent quarterly report – the first fatality in several years.
Firefighters were called to a home on 10th Avenue on April 29 after a fire broke out inside. There was only one person home at the time, and he was pulled from the blaze, but he didn’t survive, said deputy fire chief Chris Bowcock of the Burnaby Fire Department.
The man’s death is the first death caused by a fire in recent years, according to the department’s quarterly report.
Injuries, however, are more common. Seven citizen injuries were reported between January and March of this year. Bowcock couldn’t provide details on what the injuries were or at which fire they happened at because the information presented in the quarterly reports is from a database that documents injuries and deaths, but not any specific details.
“(The injuries) could be anything from just a burn or a little bit smoke inhalation,” Bowcock added.
Burnaby firefighters responded to 3,538 incidents during the second quarter of this year, between April and June, which is slightly higher than the same time last year. The number of incidents in the first quarter of 2015, however, were more consistent with the first quarter of 2014. This year, the fire department reported responding to 3,175 incidents between January and March, compared to 3,059 last year.
The fire department is also now including the number of accumulative hours spent visiting offices and sites, and checking plans as part of fire prevention duties. So far this year, the department has conducted more than 1,780 office and site visits and checked more than 1,090 plans.
