A suspicious blaze in Cherryville burnt a vacant trailer to the ground Monday morning.
The fire was called in Monday morning just before 5 a.m. in the 1100 block of Highway 6, past Frank’s General Store.
Cherryville does not have any fire protection, and although the location is outside the Lumby Fire Department’s area, they attended anyway to ensure no one was at risk.
“It was unknown if anybody was inside the building,” said Tony Clayton, Lumby Fire Department, who discovered once they were on scene that the trailer was vacant.
But the structure was a complete loss.
“If was fully engulfed when I got there,” said Clayton.
Firefighters cooled down the blaze and ensured there was no risk of it spreading before leaving. RCMP are now investigating the blaze.
“The fire is highly suspicious because it is vacant,” said Lumby RCMP spokesperson Cpl. Henry Proce. “It’s been vacant for about a year or so.”
Proce credits the Lumby Fire Department for their actions, particularly since there is no fire protection in Cherryville.
“They were instrumental in getting the fire under control.”
If it was confirmed that no one was inside the structure and there was no risk of spreading, the trailer would have been left to burn to the ground.
“This happens about once or twice a year. There have been some nice homes lost in Cherryville,” said Proce. “There’s four or five I’ve been to that have just burned to the ground.”
Without fire protection, Cherryville residents are left to fend for themselves to fight fires.
“The residents of Cherryville have consistently turned down the option for fire protection, they don’t want to pay the extra taxes,” said Proce.
