A man is in hospital with serious burns after a fire erupted in his trailer at a Courtenay campground Thursday, killing a dog.
Crews were called to Maple Pool Campground on Headquarters Road at around 8:30 a.m. after witnesses reported hearing explosions in the trailer.
Firefighters arrived to find the 20-foot fifth-wheel fully engulfed by flames and too far gone to save.
“Initial report when we arrived here was that it was caused by an explosion within the trailer, though we’re still investigating to determine the cause,” said Courtenay Fire Asst. Chief Dennis Henderson.
A man who was inside the trailer got out on his own but was suffering from serious second or possibly third-degree burns, according to fire officials.
A dog inside the trailer did not survive.
Neighbours who woke up to the sound of explosions say they feared for their safety.
"I woke up to my daughter screaming ‘fire, fire!’ She woke the whole house up and basically brought it to our attention, and lo and behold there's a fire,” said John Kelly.
The family got their kids and prepared to leave in case the fire spread.
“It was a little scary,” said Darlene Kelly. “I thought it was ours on fire and when I opened the door it was just fully engulfed. It was hitting trees already.”
Firefighters worked to prevent the blaze from spreading to other trailers and it was eventually brought under control.
It’s the second fire in recent months to break out at the park. Crews were called to the campground in May when another trailer burned to the ground and the man inside was rescued through a window.
Firefighters say they've been to a number of fires over the years at the park and try to ensure permanent residents don't set structures up too close to one another.
Residents of the park are concerned some of the units aren’t safe because people living in them can’t afford proper housing.
“This whole community needs to start getting together and realizing it’s not only us,” said Rhonda Sinclair. “It’s other people that have no proper housing, cannot afford the housing and they’re living in bombs. That thing blew up like a bomb.”
Fire officials haven’t confirmed a cause of Thursday morning’s fire and say the investigation has been turned over to RCMP.
With a report from CTV Vancouver Island's Gord Kurbis
