While the Celebration of Light nights are some of the biggest events of the year in Vancouver, it seems not everyone got the memo.
On Saturday night (July 20), Team Portugal lit up the sky above English Bay with thousands upon thousands of observers spread across the city's western and downtown neighbourhoods.
It seems someone heard those fireworks and before heading online to search for what might be happening, they called 911.
E-Comm, the people who receive 911 calls in B.C., took the call as a chance to remind people that the annual fireworks event was happening again.
"We just had someone call 911 to report fireworks in #Vancouver," E-Comm said on X/Twitter. "Friendly reminder, that the @CelebOfLight fireworks will be taking place at English Bay tonight, July 24 and 27."
It was part of a series of tweets sent out as E-Comm had a police call taker give live updates of her shift. Later posts reminded people to stay on the line if they pocket-dial 911 so operators can make sure the caller is safe and not to call 911 for minor fender benders where no one is injured.
And while Vancouver Fire Rescue Services did send out a post reminding people that beach fires and fireworks are not permitted in Vancouver right now, they note the Celebration of Light is a licensed exception.
More reasons not to call 911
Recently the Surrey RCMP issued a press release noting some of the calls they've received that shouldn't have been calls to 911. Of more than 100,000 calls to the Surrey RCMP, they note more than 25 percent are false calls in some way.
Here are some of the reasons people called the Surrey RCMP over the last few months:
- Someone called 911 to ask what the non-emergency number for the police was
- Someone needed help moving
- Someone missed the bus
- Someone's roommate burnt dinner
- Someone's fast food order got messed up
- Someone was woken up by a loud truck driving by
They explain 911 should be called when someone's life is in danger, there's an immediate threat to a person or property, a crime is in progress like a robbery or stabbing, or there's a good chance of arresting a suspect (like the suspect is still nearby) of a serious crime. Online reporting is another option to report an non-emergency incident.
The VPD also have an online crime reporting tool.
The Celebration of Light returns Wednesday (Team Malaysia) and Saturday (Team United Kingdom) for two more explosive evenings over English Bay.
