Skip to content

Township fire department inundated with calls

Smokey haze, brush and grass fires have kept firefighters hopping during recent heat wave

Township fire department has been slammed with calls for service, with 722 calls coming in since June 1. “We’ve been extremely busy,” said Township assistant fire chief Pat Walker.

Since June 1, firefighters have gone out to nine house fires and put out 93 bush and grass fires.

A number of those fires were caused by discarded cigarettes.

When the smoke from B.C. forest fires was at its thickest, the fire hall phone lit up with calls, with many thinking Langley was on fire, he said.

Firefighters have also been going out to lots of medical calls for people with breathing issues.

Wildfires are burning throughout the province, but so far Langley firefighters haven’t been called to help, as they did during the 2003 Kelowna fires, said Walker.



Monique Tamminga

About the Author: Monique Tamminga

Monique brings 20 years of award-winning journalism experience to the role of editor at the Penticton Western News. Of those years, 17 were spent working as a senior reporter and acting editor with the Langley Advance Times.
Read more