Firefighters from Extension, Cedar and Cranberry volunteer fire departments, as well as B.C. Ambulance Service and RCMP, turned out to battle a blaze that destroyed a dwelling and sent two people to hospital this afternoon.
The alarm was sounded at about 1:30 p.m. Thursday, April 8 after a fire broke out in a bus that was converted into a dwelling, on a property at 796 Nanaimo River Road, located in a rural residential area southwest of Nanaimo.
“When our crews arrived, the bus, structure, living quarters for an individual was fully engulfed, as well as a makeshift garage beside it, that was on fire,” said Kevin Young, chief of Extension Volunteer Fire Department. “There was a car in the garage that caught fire and the adjacent trees, as well. At that time we called for mutual aid from North Cedar and Cranberry.”
One man, who was in the bus when the fire broke out, managed to get out of the bus on his own, Young said, and was taken to hospital with unknown injuries.
A second man was also taken to hospital for what appeared to be a head injury. Both men were conscious and being treated by ambulance paramedics at the scene before they were taken to hospital.
“Our guys and Cranberry and North Cedar, they did a good job of knocking that down,” Young said.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined and is under investigation.
Fire departments from Extension, Cedar, Cranberry, BC Ambulance RCMP at structure fire 796 Nanaimo River Rd. One dwelling destroyed by fire. Two people to hospital. More to come.#Nanaimo #fire @NanaimoBulletin pic.twitter.com/9OYs1uKFIH
— Chris Bush (@ChrisBushphotog) April 8, 2021
