Car on fire? B.C. fire department says to pull over into centre median

CBC

4 days ago

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A Vancouver Island fire department is asking drivers whose vehicles are on fire to pull over into the centre median on highways if it is safe to do so, as they can unintentionally spark wildfires amid drought conditions.
Deep Bay Fire Rescue, a volunteer-run department located northwest of Qualicum Beach, issued the advice to drivers on the Inland Island Highway in a Facebook post on July 30.
That was the same day a car fire was suspected to have started a major wildfire near Peachland in the Okanagan, which prompted the closure of Highway 97 and the Okanagan Connector and led to the evacuation of 400 homes.
Firefighters say vehicles can inadvertently spark blazes if they're parked on the side of roads, which can be exacerbated by drought conditions and high winds.
"If you're on a divided highway where you have room to pull into the [median], especially during the dry season, it's good to pull into the [median]," said George Lenz, the volunteer chief of Deep Bay Fire Rescue. "Because then you're less apt to spread fire into the bush surrounding the highways."
Lenz said having a car fire in the centre median also gives firefighters an easier route to access the vehicle. Being parked on the side of the road could mean an unnecessary highway closure.
"You don't want to interrupt the flow of traffic any more than you absolutely have to," Lenz said.
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The fire chief acknowledged the advice would not apply on a two-lane highway, but said that, amid dry conditions, drivers should try to find an area to pull over that isn't immediately close to grass or vegetation, like a pullout.
In addition to battling blazes sparked by vehicle fires, the department has also had to deal with fires that started with grass ignited by hot exhaust pipes on vehicles pulled over to the side of the road, he said.
"We have had a couple of fires that have spread well into the grass. We're talking maybe a half an acre of land grass area around [it] that we've been able to extinguish," he said.
"But if it's really dry this time of year, it's difficult to say how fast that fire is growing and which way the wind's blowing and how hard the wind is blowing," he added. "It could be into the woods before you know it."
Turn off engine, fire chief advises
Dan Derby, the regional fire chief in Trail, B.C., and the president of the Fire Chiefs Association of B.C., advises drivers to pull over safely and shut off their vehicle's engine if they suspect a fire.
"By turning off the engine, you're cutting the fuel supply," he said.
"This is, of course, more challenging in, like, an EV battery vehicle that could be having some sort of issue — but we always recommend turning off the engine, [evacuating] the vehicle."
Derby added that drivers shouldn't try to go back into a vehicle for personal belongings, and should avoid opening the vehicle's hood to stop oxygen from entering and feeding the fire.
Statistics Canada shows there was an average of just over 1,110 vehicle fires in the country every year from 2017 to 2021.
CBC News has reached out to the B.C. Wildfire Service to find out if they specifically track how many wildfires were caused by vehicle fires in the province.
Under B.C.'s Wildfire Act, off-road vehicles on provincial land are required to have a spark arrestor.
Newer vehicles likely already have the small device, which is designed to prevent sparks from exiting the tailpipe. Owners of older models without arrestors need to have them installed.
The service says around 30 per cent of wildfires in B.C. last year were sparked by human activity.