The occupant of a travel trailer is lucky to be alive after fire broke out in the trailer early Thursday.
The trailer was parked at 9215 McBride in Fort Langley. Langley Township fire department was called at 2:12 a.m. and crews from three firehalls (Halls 2, 4 and 8) responded very quickly, said assistant fire chief Pat Walker.
When they arrived on the scene, they found the trailer was fully involved. Fortunately for the occupant of the trailer, a neighbour had spotted the fire, banged on the trailer and woke him up.
The occupant attempted to extinguish the fire with an extinguisher before fire crews arrived.
“At this time, it appears that the cause of the fire was an oil-filled space heater located in the trailer,” Walker said.
He advises citizens to make themselves aware of the operating instructions and manufacturers’ suggested clearances to combustibles, when using portable heating devices. He also said this fire points out the importance of having an operating smoke detector both at home and in recreational vehicles.
The fire department has not yet determined if there was a smoke detector in the trailer.
