(file photo/Vernon Matters)

By Pete McIntyre

Road closed for hours

RV goes up in flames on College Way

Jul 2, 2023 | 9:00 AM

A recreational vehicle was destroyed in a fire that shutdown a busy Coldstream road for several hours.

The Coldstream and Lavington fire departments responded to College Way just before 10 p.m. on Friday, June 30 where a RV was fully engulfed in flames after having a mechanical problem.

“Thankfully the driver and passenger escaped with no injuries,” Coldstream fire chief Fiona Morgenthaler-Code told Vernon Matters. “The driver was assessed but ultimately refused transport [to hospital] by the BC Ambulance Service.”

Morgenthaler-Code said College Way was closed for about three hours for the fire.

“We had the remains of the RV removed from the scene and the road cleaned up with the assistance of Coldstream Public Works,” she said.

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“The vehicle was a catastrophic loss, as most vehicle fires often are,” Morgenthaler-Code added.

RCMP will work with Coldstream’s fire investigator to see if the cause can be confirmed.

A video posted on social media by The Vernon Morning Star showed the fire, with the driver saying he had just bought the RV “an hour ago and paid five-grand for it.”

The man said he heard a pop and the engine died, and then noticed a fire in the front end.