Sentinel Storage at 6445 Highway 97 (Photo credit: Sentinel Storage)

By Pete McIntyre

Three vehicles damaged

Car fire doused outside storage facility

Mar 31, 2021 | 3:01 PM

Smoke and flames were seen coming from the parking lot of a Vernon storage business this afternoon.

A car’s engine ignited outside Sentinel Storage on Highway 97 during the noon hour.

“An individual was attempting to start his vehicle and it caught on fire. And then we had two other vehicles that were parked on either side of it that suffered damage,” BX-Swan Lake Fire Rescue chief Bill Wacey told Vernon Matters.

Wacey said the fire could have spread as there were some tent trailers and propane tanks in an outside storage area.

“It could have had some potential if it had gotten a little bit more active, but it didn’t.”

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Wacey said it was an accidental cause with no further investigation from his department.

The fire chief said the original vehicle was likely a write-off as the flames were coming out of the front end when crews arrived.

“It doesn’t take much to permanently damage a vehicle,” he said.