Halloween brings injuries and arrests despite fireworks bans in lower B.C.

Halloween revellers are seen on Vancouver's Granville street in this file photo. (CTV)

Vancouver emergency crews faced another year of Halloween chaos Thursday, as assaults, fires, fireworks-related injuries and general public disorder plagued the spooky holiday.

Despite an ongoing ban on selling or using fireworks anywhere in the city, incidents involving the low-grade explosives still resulted in a number of injuries.

The mayhem started early at Fraserview’s David Thompson Secondary School, where two teenage boys were hurt after someone triggered a firecracker in the school’s hallway just after 10 a.m.

According to a statement from the Vancouver Police Department, the person set off the firecracker by the school’s gym entrance, hitting two students as they were walking past. One was taken to hospital for a facial injury, while the other suffered temporary loss of hearing.

Police have not identified a suspect, and said it’s unclear whether the person is a student at the school. The VPD, whose Youth Services Section is investigating the incident, asked anyone who witnessed the assault or has information on what happened to call the department at 604-717-3144.

Officers continued to have their work cut out for them as evening set in, with Vancouver police noting much of the disorder was concentrated in the downtown area.

Eight people were arrested for breaching the peace, alongside one for an assault on a police officer, all carried out on the Granville strip, the VPD said on Friday.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services tallied another person with serious, firework-related injuries Thursday evening, after someone carried out the “malicious discharge” of a firework close to another person.

Despite the ban on the selling, buying, and discharging of fireworks in Vancouver that was put into effect in 2020, firefighters said they received 100 reports of fireworks being lit around the city this year, with crews responding to 50 areas of concern where they had to actively intervene or disperse people that were in the area.

Of the 21 fires reported throughout Vancouver on Thursday night, three were related to fireworks, VFRS said.

While the numbers mark a notable decrease in spooky season misconduct - firefighters noted the firework-related damages of $3,000 are considerably lower than the $225,000 racked up last year, and the two combined pale in comparison to the $1.3 million in combined property loss for 2019 and 2020 - the incidents that took place Thursday highlight there is still room for improvement, the VFRS said.

“While there have been year-over-year decreases in firework related events, there is still more work to be done to educate the public about risks to people and property, as well as enforce the bylaws that are in place,” said the VFRS in a news release Friday.

Vancouver wasn’t the only region home to Halloween lawlessness on Thursday, with other Lower Mainland police departments reporting incidents throughout the evening.

In Squamish, fireworks, bear spray and improvised explosive devices were seized by police reprimanding a large gathering of rowdy youths in the Garibaldi Highlands neighbourhood. Officers had located around 100 youths setting off illegal fireworks, lighting fires, and “causing mischief” in the area, said Squamish RCMP, who had received a large number of calls reporting fireworks being shot at people, homes and cars.

“A number of youths were physically and verbally aggressive towards police. Fireworks were directed at police and their vehicles and were set off. Additionally, some youths were in possession of bear spray, bear bangers, improvised explosive devices (IED) and wearing balaclavas,” said Squamish RCMP in a news release.

Several youths were arrested and later released back to their parents and, while no charges have been laid following the incidents, investigations are still ongoing, said police.

The Abbotsford Police Department said officers seized explosives and issued violation tickets, reprimanding youth “as young as 14,” following a “large number” of fireworks complaints. Surrey RCMP noted 39 calls related to fireworks use, with the other 301 calls received Thursday evening being a result of disturbances, mischief, disputes, abandoned 911 calls and suspicious occurrences.

In Mission, an officer was allegedly struck in the face with a baton while trying to break up a 300 person-strong party in the area of Albert McMahon Elementary School.

Meanwhile, the Sḵwx̱wú7mesh Úxwumixw (Squamish Nation), who last month announced it would be one of the final regions to prohibit the celebratory explosives, noted a considerable reduction in Halloween-related incidents this year.

The Nation’s spokesperson and council member Sxwixwtn, Wilson Williams, said people “respected the ban” on sales on reserve land in the lead up to Halloween, and the number of noise complaints and incidents reported were substantially reduced.

“I am pleased to say the fireworks ban we put in place on our reserve achieved its intended objective,” he said.

“The safety of our people during this season is our number one priority, and the ban was a success.”