A fire at Whispering Pines Mobile Home Park in Genelle destroyed one home on Tuesday, Oct. 15.
Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue Captain Jason Milne said the first truck was dispatched to the scene, at 500 16th Avenue, at 1:52 p.m. More crews arrived to battle the fire shortly after.
Two residents of the park, Jamie La Berg, 44, and Shaun Colbon, 27, said they helped evacuate two people, who they described as an older man and woman, who were inside the trailer at the time of the blaze.
“I heard a boom over here and came running,” said La Berg, who was working in his back yard at the time. “It was all on fire and they wouldn’t get out, so I went over and grabbed the guy, brought him out of the way and my brother-in-law, Shaun, moved the guy further out of the way. He was cut up pretty bad [the man].”
Colbon said they also helped to move vehicles away from the burning trailer.
“We asked them if anyone else was in there and they said no,” said Colbon, who said he also had to physically move the woman — who appeared to be in shock and unwilling to leave the home. “So, we got them out of there and called the fire department.”
The two men, being hailed by some in the crowd as heroes, said the man who was in the trailer had some injuries to at least one arm and the woman appeared to be uninjured.
A number of small booms were heard as crews fought the fire, prompting many of the onlookers who had gathered to move back to a safer distance. Some burning debris was seen approximately 20 metres from the home.
Milne said more details will be released once he has an opportunity to speak with the incident commander.
Genelle residents Jamie La Berg, 44, (left) and Shaun Colbon, 27, helped pull a man and woman to safety when their mobile home caught fire on Tuesday, Oct. 15. The brothers-in-law said they heard a boom followed by smoke while working in their back yard.
