Squamish fire officials clarify cause of recent downtown bike fire

Fire Chief Aaron Foote has confirmed that a fire on Sunday at the intersection of Loggers Lane and Victoria Street was caused by a person in crisis, though no injuries were reported.

The downtown bike fire earlier this week was started by a person having a mental health crisis, according to Fire Chief Aaron Foote. The fire on Sunday on Loggers Lane and Victoria Street, which was shared by some on local social media, was a pile of belongings, including a regular bicycle, that burned, Foote said. No injuries were reported; however, the RCMP were called to assist the person in crisis.

Battery fires Foote said that while the bicycle in this case was not an e-bike, the fire department is seeing a rise in lithium battery fires in all types of equipment such as bicycles, laptop computers, cell phones and the like. “These fires pose a significant risk to the public as they burn rapidly, above normal combustion temperatures and are more difficult to extinguish,” Foote said. “Lithium releases oxygen when it reaches combustion temperatures which starts a process called 'thermal runaway,' ABC-type fire extinguishers can be used, but the best way to extinguish these types of fires is lots of water from a safe distance."

Crisis support Vancouver Coastal Health recommends if there is a life-threatening safety concern of someone in crisis, call 9-1-1. Or, if you are the person in crisis, you can go to the emergency room at Squamish Hospital. Suicide prevention hotline: 1-800-784-2433 BC Crisis Line: 310-6789 Kids Help Phone: 1-800-668-6868 Indigenous Crisis and Support Line - KUU-US Crisis Support Line: 1-800-588-8717 Harm reduction: Toward the Heart Words missing in article?

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