The lone occupant of a trailer escaped with his life, and no injuries were reported at a local business in two separate incidents that kept firefighters busy this weekend.
On Saturday, (Feb.13) just after midnight, a man living in the Trees Mobile Home Park off McMillan Street awoke to the smell of smoke.
Merritt Fire Rescue Department (MFRD) Fire Chief Dave Tomkinson said the man escaped the trailer on his own, but the incident ended up sending him to hospital with smoke inhalation.
The man was outside the trailer when 20 firefighters arrived on scene.
The smoke was the result of an overheated motor in a furnace, and firefighters isolated the appliance and ventilated the residence.
Tomkinson said smoke and sparks emanated from the furnace, but no flames.
“There was no working smoke alarm [in the trailer], and thankfully the occupant woke up,” Tomkinson said.
MFRD advises people install smoke alarms in their bedrooms and every level of their homes. The devices should be checked monthly and replaced every 10 years.
Almost two-thirds of home fire deaths result from fires in homes with no working smoke alarms.
Before the day was done, at about 11:55 p.m., MFRD was called to a fire at the Diacarbon Pellet Plant along Priest Avenue.
Tomkinson said a fire broke out in some of the plant’s manufacturing machinery and it’s believed the cause was welding that occurred earlier in the day.
“Something must have smolderd until [a fire] finally broke out, and was discovered by their staff,” Tomkinson said.
He said the machinery wasn’t in operation at the time of the incident.
Firefighters were able to contain the flames to that machinery and there was no threat to the mill structure or the office building.
Twenty-three firefighters responded to the fire, and MFRD was on scene until about 2:30 a.m.
“They had to dismantle some equipment to gain access tom the fire,” he said.
