Dear Editor:
Re: Hot, Skip and Jump March 16, cover photo showing the Persian community’s celebration of Charshanbe Suri at Ambleside Park.
I was appalled to see how the West Vancouver administration has allowed this obvious fire hazard and dangerous stunt to proceed at a public park. It is one thing to welcome diverse cultures, quite another to allow a public display of it with no thought to the apparent danger. Open fire with flames of over three feet tall – regardless of whether they are enclosed in tiny six-inch high barricades – in a wooded park area is not to be taken lightly. To have children jumping over such fires fully clothed which can ignite with one misstep is unbelievably dangerous.
I am sure the Persian community is already very appreciative of the welcome they have found in civic life here and by Canadians of all cultures. There is no need to continue detrimental holdovers from their ancient cultural practices. This is not a religious issue requiring great introspection about fundamental rights. It’s simply a matter of common sense.
If our esteemed West Vancouver administration is reading this, please do not repeat this permit for next year and save the children and our park from potential future dangers. It will take only one serious incident to have it stopped anyway. Lets be proactive and use our common sense before it happens.
S.S. Rashid
North Vancouver
Editor’s note: According to the District of West Vancouver, the fire department oversees the Ambleside event, including deciding how big the fires are allowed to be. Security personnel are on hand to manage each of the two lines of fire jumpers. There are also fire extinguishers at the entrance and exit of the fire jumping area and first aid kits within metres of the fires.
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