A quick-thinking caravan park manager has helped prevent a potential disaster by extinguishing a van fire at Alva Beach, near Ayr in Queensland.
The Townsville Bulletin understands that a gas burner in the caravan’s kitchen was left on and sparked the blaze. It was put out by the caravan park manager and another man who grabbed fire extinguishers to battle the flames.
A Queensland Fire and Emergency Services spokeswoman said the fire had been contained by the time firefighters arrived at the scene at Alva Beach Caravan Park yesterday morning.
However, the caravan has been so severely damaged by the fire that it is no longer able to be used.
No one was in the caravan at the time and there were no injuries.
* Comment below.
Is there a use by date for our caravan fire extinguishers, ours is 9 years old the gauge needle is still in the green. Maybe a qualified person could let us know, how long do you keep an unused one.
Ross,
I don’t know if they have a use-by date, but if the pressure gauge shows it has still got a full charge, then it should be O/K. I presume that the extinguisher is a dry powder type, the only problem with them is the fine powder (like talcum powder), over time, settles to the bottom, and needs to be stirred up about once a year. The way to do this, is using a rubber mallet, not a steel hammer, firmly thump the sides and bottom of the extinguisher, to get the powder back to the fine fluffy consistency that it was originally.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Ralph.
Great outcome and well done to the Park Manager. Unfortunately, many Parks around Australia do not have an emergency plan or train staff to deal with emergencies. In our experience, the actions of staff prior to the arrival of emergency services are critical for the preservation of life and property. Parks are often difficult to access for emergency services and delays in response can often occur.