Rescue services were called out to Nanaimo’s stadium district to help the driver of a flipped vehicle yesterday.
Nanaimo Fire Rescue, RCMP and B.C. Ambulance Service responded to reports of a motor vehicle crash just after 4 p.m Thursday, March 7, along Third Street, close to Serauxmen Stadium.
David Dales, Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief, said firefighters were prepared for the worst, based on 911 dispatcher descriptions of calls about the incident.
“It came in as a car on fire, underwater in a ditch with a person trapped, so we roll heavy to that,” he said.
However, the commanding officer of the first Nanaimo Fire Rescue crew to arrive on scene was able to open a back door of the vehicle and the driver was able to climb out.
“The single and unhurt passenger was able to extricate themselves quite easily … a male driver in his 40s,” Dales said.
The assistant chief said reports of the car being on fire resulted from the hot motor of the vehicle coming in contact with water in the drainage ditch, which created a large amount of steam.
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