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Smoke from garage fire damages vehicles

NANAIMO – Smoke from fire triggered by garage baseboard heater damages several vehicles.

A Harewood homeowner got a nasty surprise when he went to check on the cause of a power failure in his home on the weekend.

The cause lay behind a wall of smoke that greeted the homeowner when he checked in the garage behind his home at 452 Watfield Rd. Saturday morning.

Combustible material had ignited after it came in contact with an electric baseboard heater, said Capt. Ennis Mond, fire prevention officer with Nanaimo Fire Rescue.

Mond said the fire was minimal and started sometime after 6 p.m. Friday, the last time the homeowner was in the garage, but burned itself out overnight.

Unfortunately heavy smoke from the fire damaged four cars, including a 1939 Cadillac convertible, and a motorcycle under various stages of restoration in the garage. None of the vehicles were insured.

The reason the power went out in the home was because hydro lines connect to the garage first and the house is linked  off of a service panel in the garage.

“He went to check the garage and it was floor to ceiling smoke,” Mond said. “So he did the right thing and called the fire department right away.”

No one was injured in the incident.



Chris Bush

About the Author: Chris Bush

As a photographer/reporter with the Nanaimo News Bulletin since 1998.
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