A homeowner suffered burns to his arm while getting a propane tank fire under control Thursday.
The blaze broke out under the sun deck of a home on the 2400 block of Glenayr Drive shortly after 5 p.m. when the man lit his barbecue.
Dave Leigh, Nanaimo Fire Rescue fire prevention officer, said the there was a leak around the valve of the propane tank.
“He turned the gas on on the tank and the ignitor on the barbecue wasn’t working so he went to get a hand-held ignitor,” Leigh said. “When he ignited it, it fired up the gas that was leaking below and he burned his arm when he was trying to get the tank out.”
The man’s action prevented damage to the home, but he suffered blisters to one arm wrestling the tank from under the barbecue and carrying it out to a lawn, away from the house.
“It wasn’t in an enclosed area, but it was a low roof so things could have gotten out of hand, but they were lucky that it didn’t,” Leigh said.