Members of the Windermere Fire Department have extinguished a street sweeper that caught on fire Monday evening.
“Upon arrival, we found a piece of street sweeping equipment fully engulfed in flames,” said Columbia Valley Rural Fire and Rescue Assistant Chief, Joss Advocaat in a release.
“During the fire, one of the loader’s tires failed from the heat and exploded causing a loud boom that could be heard from the surrounding area. The fire itself was contained to the one piece of equipment.”
Eight firefighters and three trucks responded to the call and no injuries were reported.
The fire is not believed to be suspicious.
It’s the third fire the area’s seen in the last two weeks, but luckily this one didn’t spread.
RDEK chair Rob Gay said the FireSmart initiatives they’ve done in the region help make sure people’s properties aren’t at risk.
“We are really leading Canada in the number of neighbourhoods that we got that are actually FireSmart certified,” he said.
“This is something that people can do that’s practical in our own backyard.”
The program encourages residents to clean up any fire fuels that may be around their property to help reduce the risk of wildfires.
Something going on in your part of the Kootenays you think people should know about? Send us a news tip by emailing [email protected].