DANGER TO THE PUBLIC

Thefts affect fire safety

Vancouver police are concerned that metal thieves have created a new and potentially deadly safety hazard by stealing key fire-suppression equipment.

Sgt. Aaron Roed says more than 60 standpipe connections on the outer walls of highrise buildings downtown and in the Downtown Eastside have been stolen recently.

Vancouver Fire and Rescue Services says standpipes include the Y-shaped brass or metal connections used to feed water into a building and up to higher floors during a fire.

“The illegal removal of these puts occupants of the building at high risk,” said Vancouver Fire Rescue Capt. Jonathan Gormick.

Without them, police say firefighters can’t properly suppress a highrise blaze, although firefighter Matthew Trudeau said there are other methods to get water on a tower fire.

Investigators believe there have been additional thefts that may not have been noticed or reported to authorities, and Roed urges apartment dwellers, managers and owners to be vigilant.

“We encourage anyone who observes a missing connector to call us so we can investigate,” said Roed.

Trudeau said loss of the connections can compromise a building ’s emergency water supply, putting crews at risk and he hopes the thefts, which have become more frequent over the last month, are occurring only because thieves don’t know what they are stealing.

“I’m just trying to err on the side of caution (and say) they don’t know what it is, and hopefully this discontinues soon. But it’s been pretty frustrating,” Trudeau told a Vancouver news conference on Thursday.

The older brass connections and newer cast aluminum versions weigh about seven kilograms and would fetch about $15 at a scrapyard, he said.

Trudeau estimated it would take as long as a week or more to replace some fittings, which thieves can loosen with battery-operated grinders and then use wrenches to pull from the wall.

Depending on the complexity of the fitting, repairs can mount into the thousands of dollars for replacement and flushing of the system, and Trudeau said building owners are responsible for all those costs.

Building managers and occupants are asked to check their standpipe connections and call police if any metal fittings are missing.

Anyone with information about the thefts is asked to contact police at 604-717-0610 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-8477.

Vancouver police are investigating the thefts of more than 60 brass and metal standpipe connections from buildings across downtown Vancouver and the Downtown Eastside.

Firefighter Matthew Trudeau displays a water supply connector. Dozens of connectors have been stolen from buildings. The connectors, which would fetch about $15 at a scrapyard, help firefighters get water up to higher floors during a fire.