The Maple Ridge-Pitt Meadows School district is warning parents about improvised incendiary devices that have been found near schools.
“We have received notice from the Maple Ridge fire department about several homemade incendiary [explosive] devices found abandoned near the Thomas Haney skate park,” said the notice issued last week. “Some of these devices had already been detonated; in others, the attempt to fully detonate the device was unsuccessful.”
The Maple Ridge Fire Department is also warning people to stay away from these devices.
“These things have the potential to seriously injure, so it’s nothing to mess around with,” said Fire Chief Dane Spence.
These miniature bombs are worse than playing with fire, he added.
“The real message we want to get out there is how dangerous and unpredictable they are.”
The fire department has also found such devices on private property, in public parks and on school grounds. These homemade bombs typically make use of plastic bottles, carbon dioxide cylinders or aerosol cans, such as those for spray paint, and must be disposed of by professionals.
“Because such homemade devices are commonly found on private property, in public parks and on school grounds, please take a moment to talk with your son or daughter about what they may look like, why they are dangerous, and why it is important to stay away from such devices and report them to an adult instead,” advised the board.
“Reporting them to an adult may mean informing the school principal, or calling the local police or fire department.”
The board will be working with its school staff to educate students about the danger of such devices, but noted “this important message should also be reinforced by a parent or guardian.”