A fire that fully engulfed a pickup truck in a residential driveway was extinguished by Parksville firefighters late Thursday morning, Jan. 11., 2018
The Parksville Volunteer Fire Department was called at 11:11 a.m. Thursday to a report of a vehicle fire on Terrien Way, in the San Pareil neighbourhood.
truck fire
Firefighters arrived to find flames coming from the cab and from the engine compartment and the paint blistered on the older-model Dodge Power Ram pickup. It had been backed into the home’s driveway alongside a large cedar tree, which was partially scorched but did not ignite in a cold, steady drizzle.
Upon arrival, firefighters quickly doused the worst of the blaze, but had to force open the truck’s hood to get at lingering flames.
“We don’t really know what cause is at this time,” Parksville fire chief Marc Norris said at the site. “It sounds like it started in the dash area or in the back of the engine compartment. We’ll have to have a look at it once they get it open to determine that.”
Norris said the owner had apparently just returned home in the truck and was in the process of unloading groceries to take into the house when “he recognized there was smoke coming from under the dash.”
Nobody was injured and no other property damage was apparent in the incident. As firefighters mopped up the last of the flickering, the owner used his own hose to spray down the garage door and wall directly behind the vehicle.
“It just caught fire; that’s it,” said the man, who declined to be interviewed.
Terrien Way was blocked off near the corner of Ballenas Road West for a short time while firefighters contained the scene.
