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Fires claim boat and travel trailer in Nanaimo

Nanaimo area firefighters come off busy weekend for fires with two fires Monday morning
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Nanaimo firefighters knocked down a fire in a boat Monday, July 16, that had been left parked on the side of Park Avenue by its owner the previous night. It is one of several fires from Monday and on the weekend that remain under investigation. (CHRIS BUSH/The News Bulletin)

Nanaimo started off the work week with two fires Monday morning.

North Cedar Volunteer Fire Department rushed to a property on the 1100 block of Raines Road where a travel trailer was burning at 1:40 a.m.

“It was fully involved when we got there and … there was actually several trailers in close proximity there,” said Percy Tipping, NCVFD fire chief. “We managed to protect those and keep it from getting too far into the brush, but the trailer’s a total loss there.”

Tipping said there was no indication the trailer was occupied at the time of the fire, but there was evidence that someone was living in or using it “at some point.”

Firefighters had the main fire knocked down soon after arrival, but it took some time to ensure that nearby brush and trees the fire had extended into were completely extinguished. Tipping also noted there were strong winds at the time of the fire.

The cause of the fire was not determined Monday morning and is still under investigation.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue firefighters were called out to the scene of a boat on fire on Park Avenue near Cordan Street at about 9:15 a.m.

Firefighters arrived to find the glass fibre boat on a trailer that had been parked on the roadside was also fully ablaze.

That fire was quickly snuffed out along with nearby grass and brush that had also caught fire and the RCMP were called into investigate.

Cordan Street residents came out to report to firefighters and police that the boat, which was filled with trash, belonged to a neighbour who allegedly said he was getting rid of the boat Monday and had towed it to the location on Park Avenue and left it there overnight.

That fire also remains under investigation.



Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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