VANCOUVER (NEWS1130) - Vancouver Firefighters are warning parents to be aware that some teens are planning to head out with homemade mini-bombs this Halloween instead of plain old fireworks.
"Roman candles, firecrackers, and bottle rockets are banned in the City of Vancouver," says Capt. Gabe Roder with the
Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services. "But what's going on right now is that people are starting to make devices."
Those improvised devices are made of butane canisters, chemicals, or flares, which create explosions far more dangerous than those from legal fireworks.
"What scares us and what's alarming is that these devices... have the potential to cause a substantial amount of damage, not only to buildings but to their own bodies," he says.
Fireworks cannot be lit in Vancouver until October 31 - and then only with a permit. Retailers cannot start selling them until a week before Halloween.
Fines will be handed out to violators. The
Family Fireworks Permit Application will be available in October.
Last Halloween there was about $1.5 million in damage done to the city after 18 fires were started across Vancouver.