William Swanson and his wife were in bed last night at 11:30 unaware that their camper was on fire in front of the home.
“A police officer pounded on the door, woke us up and at that time the fire was relatively small,” said Bill Swanson.
The police officer had been alerted by someone passing by and managed to get the Swansons out.
The camper was gutted and the heat did considerable damage to the outside the house but firefighters put out the flames just in time because there was no damage done to the inside of the home.
“By the time the fire department arrived the camper was fully engulfed,” added Swanson. “There’s a lot of damage, but the fire department saved the house.”
Swanson says the home is insured but the camper is not.
The fire happened just a day after Campbell River firefighters were called to a mobile home on fire Thursday morning on Quinsam Road.
Four people and a pet escaped. It started in the kitchen and the occupants were lucky because there was no working smoke alarm in the house and they were awakened by a noise in the kitchen.
The Campbell River Fire Department says of the 95 structure fires this year almost 40% are related to kitchen fires and that overall, structure fires are up 40% this year over last year.
Fire Chief Thomas Doherty is asking everyone to make sure they have a working smoke detector inside their home.
Dean Stoltz
