Richmond’s bravest are being hailed for safely putting out a trailer fire in the 5700 block of Francis Road that endangered several other nearby homes early Sunday morning.
“They did a good job. They put out the fire and the next morning didn’t leave a trace. I’m sure people woke up and didn’t even realize what had happened,” said Eric Chan, a resident on Cantrell Road, situated behind where the fire took place.
According to the City of Richmond, Richmond Fire Rescue was called to a home on Francis around 1 a.m. after a trailer caught fire in a backyard.
Battalion chief Gord Graebel said neighbours warned a couple living in the house with the trailer that their property was ablaze.
Fire crews were able to prevent the flames from spreading.
Chan said he was listening to music alongside his dog when his 23-year-old daughter came home from an evening out to tell him there was a fire behind the house.
“I was in the house and didn’t know there was a fire. My daughter said ‘daddy, the backyard’s on fire,’” said Chan.
“When I saw the fire, it was actually quite intense. It looked like it was burning for a while,” said Chan, estimating the flames to be about 25-feet high.
Chan said, to be safe, he ran outside his house with his daughter as the flames became more intense, just before firefighters showed up.
“I left the house with a house key, my wallet and my dog.”
He said he was impressed with the responsiveness of the firefighters and especially in how they managed to douse the fire without it spreading to nearby hedges.
Chan said his backyard neighbours have a workshop in the backyard, next to the trailer, which is situated next to a fence bordering the parking lot of West Richmond Gospel Hall.
The fire department does not believe the blaze is suspicious and noted no one was injured in the incident.
No further information was provided by the city, as of Monday afternoon.
