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Motorhome Fire
Motorhome fire a close call for Highlands forest
Highlands volunteer firefighters hose off a camper van burned to a crisp Wednesday morning.
By Sam Van Schie - Goldstream News Gazette
Published: July 28, 2010 1:00 PM
Updated: July 28, 2010 2:55 PM
A Highlands couple saw their long weekend plans go up in smoke — literally — as the RV they’d been planning to take camping caught fire in front of their home Wednesday.
Around 10:30 a.m. Highlands volunteer fire department received a call about the fire on Stewart Mountain Road. When crews arrived on scene, the blaze had engulfed the motorhome and was spreading to nearby trees and shrubs.
It took crews about 10 minutes to suppress the flames. They spent another 40 minutes soaking the ground and making sure there were no smoldering remains.
“The cause of the fire is still unknown at this point,” Highlands deputy fire chief Peter Schuttinga said as he looked at the charred black skeleton of what was a 1989 Ford motorhome. “We’ll have an investigation, but as you can see there isn’t much left.”
His biggest concern was how fast the fire jumped towards the forest.
“All those trees are tinder dry. It could have been a lot worse,” Schuttinga said.
Mark Jackson, who lives in the house, said his wife called him right after she got off the phone with the fire department. He was at work in Victoria at the time.
“She’d been at home by herself at the time, so it’s a scary thing to happen. I rushed home,” he said.
Jackson explained that his wife had turned on the motorhome and walked a few metres away to feed some horses they keep on the property. “When she turned around, there was smoke coming from the motorhome,” he said.
His wife grabbed a garden hose, but quickly realized it was too much for her and she called 9-1-1. Twenty firefighters responded, many of them ducking out of day jobs to rush to the midday fire.
“We have no idea why the fire started,” said Jackson. “We’re just glad it’s taken care of, and we want to thank all the firefighters for their help.”
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Highlands volunteer firefighters hose off a camper van burned to a crisp Wednesday morning.
By Sam Van Schie - Goldstream News Gazette
Published: July 28, 2010 1:00 PM
Updated: July 28, 2010 2:55 PM
A Highlands couple saw their long weekend plans go up in smoke — literally — as the RV they’d been planning to take camping caught fire in front of their home Wednesday.
Around 10:30 a.m. Highlands volunteer fire department received a call about the fire on Stewart Mountain Road. When crews arrived on scene, the blaze had engulfed the motorhome and was spreading to nearby trees and shrubs.
It took crews about 10 minutes to suppress the flames. They spent another 40 minutes soaking the ground and making sure there were no smoldering remains.
“The cause of the fire is still unknown at this point,” Highlands deputy fire chief Peter Schuttinga said as he looked at the charred black skeleton of what was a 1989 Ford motorhome. “We’ll have an investigation, but as you can see there isn’t much left.”
His biggest concern was how fast the fire jumped towards the forest.
“All those trees are tinder dry. It could have been a lot worse,” Schuttinga said.
Mark Jackson, who lives in the house, said his wife called him right after she got off the phone with the fire department. He was at work in Victoria at the time.
“She’d been at home by herself at the time, so it’s a scary thing to happen. I rushed home,” he said.
Jackson explained that his wife had turned on the motorhome and walked a few metres away to feed some horses they keep on the property. “When she turned around, there was smoke coming from the motorhome,” he said.
His wife grabbed a garden hose, but quickly realized it was too much for her and she called 9-1-1. Twenty firefighters responded, many of them ducking out of day jobs to rush to the midday fire.
“We have no idea why the fire started,” said Jackson. “We’re just glad it’s taken care of, and we want to thank all the firefighters for their help.”
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