Vancouver fire halls offering residents free salt
10 fire halls will have de-icing salt available starting Wednesday
Vancouver Fire is offering residents buckets of free road salt due to cold and snowy winter weather that has made sidewalks and streets dangerously icy.
10 fire halls will be offering free salt to residents of Vancouver Wednesday morning. The halls will be open from 9 a.m. PT to 8 p.m. today, and residents can take up to two buckets each.
The fire halls are:
- Fire Hall #3 - 2801 Quebec Street
- Fire Hall #4 - 1475 West 10th Avenue
- Fire Hall #7 - 1090 Haro Street
- Fire Hall #12 - 2460 Balaclava Street
- Fire Hall #13 - 4013 Prince Albert Street
- Fire Hall #14 - 2804 Venables Street
- Fire Hall #15 - 3003 East 22nd Avenue
- Fire Hall #17 - 7070 Knight Street
- Fire Hall #19 - 4396 West 12th Avenue
- Fire Hall #22 - 1005 West 59th Avenue
Jonathan Gormick with Vancouver Fire and Rescue Service said residents cleaned out four halls that received early shipments of salt Tuesday.
"We've already had to dissuade one eager customer from helping themselves to garbage pails from the back of a pickup truck," he said.
"We're hoping that everybody uses the honour system and takes an appropriate amount."
Gormick said each fire hall will be taking inventory of how much salt they receive and that there is a contingency plan in case any halls run out of salt early in the day.
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<a href="https://twitter.com/CBCStephenQuinn">@CBCStephenQuinn</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCOnTheCoast">@CBCOnTheCoast</a> McGill & Nanaimo streets this morning <a href="https://t.co/Xyu4nPtFxq">pic.twitter.com/Xyu4nPtFxq</a>
—@gnb8th at Oak, looking North, towards 6th at the bottom of the hill. 1 block East is open. <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCOnTheCoast">@CBCOnTheCoast</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCStephenQuinn">@CBCStephenQuinn</a> <a href="https://t.co/ANNConC9Hy">pic.twitter.com/ANNConC9Hy</a>
—@IanAMartin<a href="https://twitter.com/CBCOnTheCoast">@CBCOnTheCoast</a> <a href="https://t.co/6DDvSCrX2M">pic.twitter.com/6DDvSCrX2M</a>
—@PhantomShovel69The City of Vancouver announced Tuesday more than 300 city staff have been redirected from their normal duties to address the problem of perilous streets and sidewalks.
The City of New Westminster is also offering free sand outside its Engineering Operations yard at 901 1st Street.
With files from The Canadian Press