Video shot by Pamela Borges, courtesy Hacking the Main Frame.
A FIRE in a recreational vehicle could’ve been much worse if it had ignited the nearby residence at the corner of Walsh Ave. and Sparks St. Aug. 16.
The camper’s owner, who was renting the house, and a friend were taking a break from working on the fence around the backyard and went into the camper in the driveway, said Terrace fire chief John Klie.
One of them plugged the vehicle’s fridge into an extension cord that led to an outlet in the house and noticed that it sparked a bit but figured it was an old camper and had done that before, said Klie.
The men got out of the camper and a while later noticed smoke and called the fire department, he added.
Although the men had been smoking, the fire department is ruling it as an electrical fire related to the fridge and not due to cigarettes being disposed improperly, said Klie.
“That’s what we’re leaning towards (electrical fire) because everything goes that way,” he said.
The camper, which hadn’t been used in a while, was destroyed and flames scorched the outside of the car port and the fence, he added.
A quick response by the fire department ensured that the blaze didn’t spread to the residence, said Klie.
“A couple more, maybe two minutes at the most, and the shed (car port) would’ve caught fire,” said Klie, adding that from there, the car port could’ve ignited and if flames had spread into the roof, it would have been a different story.
Firefighters spent about an hour and a half extinguishing the flames and ensuring the blaze was out.
Klie said he recommends that people take a good look at all the electrical and gas appliances in their trailers and campers and if something looks wrong, to have a qualified person look at it.
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A fire deliberately set at Cassie Hall was doused immediately thanks to the school’s sprinkler system.
Someone broke a window and lit either a curtain, or a gymnastic mat, on fire in the early morning hours of Aug. 10, said Terrace fire chief John Klie.
“The school’s sprinkler contained the fire,” he said, adding that by the time firefighters arrived, there was just smoke.
“It just kept to the mattress and wall with very little fire damage and next to no heat damage,” he added, saying there was a lot of water damage.
Firefighters cleared the school of smoke and school staff will probably wash the walls and everything in that particular room, said Klie.
As of Aug. 17, police didn’t have any suspects, he added.