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Family displaced, motor home destroyed in pair of Nanaimo fires

Feb 26, 2018 | 4:10 PM

NANAIMO — A pair of notable fires in Nanaimo are under investigation, including a townhome blaze which displaced a family of five.

Nanaimo Fire Rescue assistant chief Tim Doyle said a unit on Pryde Ave. in Madrona Village was badly damaged after aggressive flames broke out Sunday night.

“All of the residents of that unit made it out safely,” Doyle said.

He added the townhouse did not have working smoke alarms. He said temporary shelter for the family is being provided through Emergency Management BC.

Doyle said it’s unclear what caused the fire.

Earlier on Sunday afternoon a motor home on Bruce Ave. at Eighth St. was destroyed in a blaze deemed accidental by Nanaimo Fire Rescue.

Submitted by Brendan Graves 

Motor home owner Dawn Litowski told NanaimoNewsNOW  the vehicle sits on a construction site and was used as a work office. She said flames erupted a few minutes after she left it to walk the construction site with her daughter.

Litowski said she opened the motor home door and “all hell broke loose.”

“The smoke hit me so fast, it burnt my eyes. From what the fireman said it was the burnt vinyls and plastics that went into my lungs.”

Litowski was told the cause after meeting with fire investigators Monday morning.

“It was because I had a candle inside there. They say the candle might have dropped and hit the blankets on the couch when we closed the doors.”

Litowski said she did have insurance.

—With files from Spencer Sterritt

 

ian@Nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes