Saturday's downpour may have been a bummer for some trick-or-treaters but it was a boon for police and fire crews, who reported a relatively quiet night despite the ghoulish holiday falling on a weekend.
"It was a fairly busy evening but a rather uneventful one for the most part," said Port Moody Police Const. Luke van Winkel. Most calls to police reported fireworks, loud parties or other nuisances, he added.
"Everyone had a good time and there were lots of community events that went off without a hitch," van Winkel said, "and it was great to see the kids out trick-or-treating."
Coquitlam RCMP reported much the same, even though Halloween is typically one of the busiest nights of the year.
The detachment called on extra resources, including members from General Duty, Traffic, Uniformed Crime Reduction and the Prolific Target Team as well as auxiliary constables and volunteers to staff the night.
"The Coquitlam RCMP would like to thank the area residents for celebrating Halloween responsibly," Cpl. Jamie Chung said in a release. "By not tying up valuable resources with preventable calls for service, we were able to focus on the more serious ones that affect public safety."
Of the 150 calls received on Halloween, most were for fireworks, parties and intoxicated people causing problems, Chung said.
Things were also quiet for members of Port Coquitlam Fire and Emergency Services.
Fire Chief Nick Delmonico said the rainy weather likely put a damper on people's Halloween fun and call volume was down this year when compared to last year's numbers. The types of incidents were fairly typical, he added, noting that the only Halloween-related call involved a young person who had a firework go off in his hand.
"He may have lost the tips of his fingers," Delmonico said.
There was a small house fire crews were able to quickly contain and several motor vehicle incidents typical of any Saturday night, he added.
"It was probably half of what we normally get on Halloween," he said. "It was pretty low key."
Call volume was also low in Port Moody, according to Fire Chief Remo Faedo. Crews responded to two incidents where smoke machines at Halloween parties set off fire alarms but aside from that things were quiet, he said.
"I think the rain helped," Faedo added. "We were anticipating heavier rains than we experienced."
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– with files from Gary McKenna
