Fire destroyed a travel trailer in Port Alberni early Saturday morning, displacing four people who had been living in the trailer.
None of the occupants were injured and all were placed under the care of emergency social services, said Port Alberni Fire Chief Mike Owens. Owens said multiple 911 calls came in at 3:42 a.m. to the 3600 block of Fourth Avenue about the trailer on fire and explosions, likely from propane tanks. “Our on-duty and off-duty [crews] found one trailer at the back of the property fully engulfed, and our crews had to suppress the fire and prevent it from spreading to a neighbouring trailer,” said Owens.He said the fire department has answered two previous calls at the same lot over the past 18 months, saying it’s “an area of concern for Port Alberni Fire, bylaw and the city.”
The condition of many of the trailers and the number of them in a small area is concerning for the fire department.B.C. Housing, the city and the Port Alberni Friendship Centre have planned the Walyaqil Tiny Home Village, which would house about 30 residents and provide supportive services, washrooms and showers.