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West Kelowna  

Campfire suspected cause of blaze that destroyed loader at construction site

Loader goes up in flames

Cindy White

The RCMP is investigating after a campfire is believed to have sparked a blaze that destroyed a loader at a construction site along Boucherie Road on Sunday night.

A Castanet reader sent a video of the fire, showing crews pouring water onto the piece of equipment that was consumed by flames.

Firefighters responded around 10:30 p.m. to a construction site in the 1800 block of Boucherie Road, near Old Boucherie Road.

"They had a fairly new loader fully involved when our crews first arrived, adjacent to a couple of sea cans," said Lionel Bateman, assistant chief of West Kelowna Fire Rescue. "So, there was some extension that we were worried about regarding the sea cans. We were not sure what was stored inside of those."

"Our investigators were out there last night, and they determined that it was started by a campfire. The investigation is with the RCMP at this time," he added.

After speaking with the owner on Monday morning, the fire department was assured that no fuels were stored inside the containers. "The construction company was in compliance. They had no fuel storage in there whatsoever," said Bateman.

The City of West Kelowna is considering bylaw changes at this week's council meeting that would increase the level of pre-fire planning and community and firefighter safety. Among the proposed changes would be a provision to prohibit the storage of flammable or combustible liquids within shipping containers unless modifications have been made to permit safe storage and reduce the risk to firefighters and the public (Fire Chiefs Association of BC standard).



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