No one was injured as crews made quick work of a motorhome fire that threatened an unoccupied structure at a Qualicum Beach RV park.
Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department said crews from multiple jurisdictions were called to Riverside Resort in the 3500-block of Highway 19A Sunday night.
They arrived to find the motorhome fire had spread to a unit in the end of the main motel on the property.
“Our crews deployed a 2.5″ attack line and proceeded to extinguish the fire on the exterior of the structure,” the department said in a Facebook post. “Once the bulk of the fire was out on the exterior, fire crews entered the structure and started working on the fire in the attic.”
In all, the fire was under control within 20 to 25 minutes of crews arriving, said incident commander Lt. Willow Bloomquist.
“Our crews absolutely nailed it and did their job,” she said, adding there were no injuries as no one was inside either the motorhome or unit at the time.
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- Firefighters battle a structure fire at Riverside Resort in Qualicum Beach Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. (Courtesy Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department)
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- Firefighters battle a structure fire at Riverside Resort in Qualicum Beach Sunday, Dec. 4, 2022. (Courtesy Dashwood Volunteer Fire Department)
The resident in the unit where the fire spread wasn’t at home at the time and has since been moved into a different unit, so no one was displaced.
“They’re very self reliant over there. We really appreciate their efforts to take care of each other,” said Bloomquist.
While a cause has not been confirmed, it originated in the motorhome and early indications are that it was sparked by a supplementary heating system like a space heater.
“Nine times out of 10 we find with RV’s it’s it’s a supplementary heating system. So a space heater connected to an extension cord plugged into a wall somewhere,” she said.
“Those RVs are just not conducive to that type of heat in the small spaces. There’s lots that can catch fire, there’s lots of plastic, lots of stuff that can overheat really quickly and then obviously those space heaters are kind of prone to issues and when you put them in such a combustible space like that. It’s just a recipe for disaster.”
Power remained out at the resort as of 3 p.m. and security was on scene, Bloomquist said. Insurance adjusters were on the way to assess the damage.
Jeff Lawrence
