Smoke machines may have created a foggy feel to some spooky yards on Halloween, but it was a routine night for the New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service.
Fire inspector Brent Joel said crews were called out nine times between 6 p.m. and 1 a.m., which included fire and medical calls. No major fire incidents were reported, but fire crews did respond to a number of nuisance calls and calls about alarms that were going off for no apparent reason.
New Westminster firefighters helped a resident extinguish a small chimney fire that occurred in a 10th Street home. The homeowner put out most of the fire himself, but firefighters used a pressurized water can to finish the job.
Fire crews also responded to a fire in a plastic trash container at a bus stop on Sixth Avenue, and to a "public hazard" on London Street in the West End.
"That was a bunch of kids letting off some fireworks," Joel said.
At 1 a.m. firefighters used a water can to extinguish a fire in a cement trash container near Eighth Avenue and 12th Street.
With the arrival of cold weather, New Westminster Fire and Rescue Service reminds anyone planning to use their fireplaces to ensure their chimneys are in good condition so fires don't start or carbon monoxide doesn't come into the home.
Tugboat fire in Queensborough
A tugboat may have survived a stint at Alcatraz but it's a little worse for the wear after a weekend fire in New Westminster.
Fire inspector Brent Joel said the boat was moored in Queensborough, along with some other boats. He said the owner reported that the tugboat had originally operated between San Francisco and Alcatraz and he's been trying to retrofit the vessel.
Captains of some other vessels on the river saw smoke coming from the pilothouse on Saturday afternoon and reported the fire.
"More smoke damage than anything. It was confined to the pilothouse," Joel said. "There is probably over $5,000 damage. There is no insurance."
Joel said the cause of the fire is believed to have been electrical.
