Fire, and gas explosion, sparks major scare at caravan park

Published: November 11, 2022

A large fire and a gas explosion has ripped through two mobile homes at a caravan park in northern New South Wales.

The Coffs Coast Advocate reports that one home collapsed as a result of the fire, which was shortly followed by a loud explosion as an LPG tank exploded.

It says the huge bang at the Nambucca Heads Pelican Beach Caravan Park, south of Coffs Harbour, was heard from several kilometres away.

The park boasts a range of cabins, as well as riverfront powered and unpowered sites which can cater for caravans, motorhomes, camper trailers, campervans and tents.

News of another fire at a caravan park will no doubt send a shiver down the spines of many grey nomads.

Cabin fore in caravan park

With caravans and motorhomes commonly having to park up in close quarters to each other in van parks, the thought of a blaze sweeping through is understandably a worrying one for many travellers.

Fire and Rescue NSW Acting Inspector, Simon Busby, told the Advocate that residents in surrounding cabins were able to be evacuated early.

“As the blocks are close together, the surrounding cabins were under threat,” Mr Busby told the newspaper. “Luckily, no persons were home in the cabins affected and no one was injured.”

Mr Busby also highlighted the importance of having a well-maintained smoke alarm.

The cause of the fire is currently being investigated.

In a separate incident in Barraba, in the NSW New England region a day earlier, Fire and Rescue NSW responded after a caravan exploded in flames, injuring three people.

Emergency services say they were called to a house adjacent to a petrol station in Queen Street and, upon entering the backyard, they located a caravan, engulfed in flames.

A man inside the van jumped through a glass window to escape. He was treated by NSW Ambulance paramedics for burns and cuts.

Two other people sustained minor injuries.

FRNSW firefighters put out the blaze in less than half an hour.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

The list of fires involving caravans is then long and growing … and sometimes multiple vans are affected.

Back in 2019, 18 caravans were destroyed when flames swept from van to van at the Goughs Bay Caravan Park near Lake Eildon in Victoria.

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Australian packed in like “sardines” caravan parks are a lawless fire hazard. In the UK 6m fire separation rules apply due to multiple van to van fires and deaths, it’s about time similar rules of fire separation applied here. We avoid the “sardine” parks like the plague.

One of the more prevalent factors in gas fires is the quality, and age, of the seals along the gas lines. Recently, I purchased a supply of “O” rings for my POL fittings as per the very galore advice of my local “expert”. On checking with the Australian supplier I was made very aware they were the wrong fit and very dangerous. On my return to the “expert” I was advised that as he had been selling these things for more than 17 years, he knew better than me !!!
Needless to say I politely told him he was in error and now advise others to be cautious when dealing with that particular outlet. In the event you are in the vicinity of a fire near gas or pressurised systems etc. stay at an approximate 45 Deg. angle to any fitting, but preferably as far away as possible.

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