A couple of serious fires at Australian caravan parks in recent days has once again put the whole issue of safety in the spotlight.
With caravans, motorhomes and cabins often located very close together, there is concern among grey nomads about how quickly a fire could sweep through. All caravan parks have to follow strict fire safety guidelines but, with multiple gas bottles around and cooking in relatively cramped conditions a fact of travelling life, the potential for problems is always there.
Sadly, that threat has been proved to be all too real in recent days.
Late last week, an 84-year-old woman was killed in the Barossa Valley, north-east of Adelaide after fire ripped through a caravan, which had been converted into cabin-style accommodation.
Police praised neighbours for their efforts to stop the spread of the blaze to gas cylinders next to the caravan.
“You could imagine the amount of gas in those may well have actually destroyed the surrounding areas and may well have killed the people who were trying to assist,” Chief Inspector Alex Zimmerman told the ABC.
And just a few days later, fire tore through a mobile home in the Lighthouse Beach Holiday Village in Port Macquarie.
The home was completely destroyed in the ‘ferocious’ blaze, but it was unoccupied at the time and no one was injured.
The ABC reports that it took three fire crews four hours to extinguish the blaze, and to prevent it spreading throughout the caravan park. Port Macquarie Fire and Rescue Station Officer, Gavin Muller, said given the proximity of the homes to one another, it was a remarkable effort.
Forensic experts are currently trying to assess the causes of both fires.
Two years ago, fire ripped through the Midland Holiday Park near Benalla in Victoria. It is believed the fire started in a caravan and then spread quickly to a further six caravans and annexes. Although no injuries were reported, several people were so emotionally distressed by the incident that they needed medical attention.
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