A terrifying incident in rural Victoria has served as a terrifying reminder of just how vulnerable caravan parks and mobile home villages are to fire.
The Shepparton News reports that a caravan blaze at Vara-Ville Village in Mooroopna, around 200 kilometres north of Melbourne, caused a major scare.
A woman who had been inside the caravan was taken to hospital with smoke inhalation, and there were initially fears the fire could spread.
Vara-Ville Village resident of five years, Cindy McLeod woke to her neighbour banging on her door. She said the fire was a reminder of how close the homes are to each other.
“‘As soon as I came outside I could see the flames and I thought we’re in trouble here,’’ Ms McLeod told the Shepparton News. “It was very scary and we all just jumped into action to stop the fire spreading,” she said.
While the Vara-Ville Village village in Mooroopna on the banks of the Goulburn River, is for residents rather than grey nomads, the message of just how vulnerable caravans and motorhomes parked in close proximity potentially are to fire will not be lost on many long-term travellers.
CFA District 22 operations officer Travis Harris said the cause of Sunday night’s fire us under investigation. He said firefighters used hoses to extinguishing the blaze.
‘‘The caravan was fully engulfed with flames and the blaze took roughly half and hour to contain,’’ he said.
There was an alarming spate of caravan fires last year. A caravan was destroyed by a blaze in the northern NSW town of Murwillumbah. Six caravans were destroyed as flames swept through a van in Kilcoy, Queensland; while a caravan was also gutted by fire at a park in Bauple, also in Queensland; and in Katherine in the Northern Territory, a grey nomad couple’s caravan caught fire and was destroyed after they parked outside the town’s Visitor Information Centre.
Most of those “caravan parks” are a death trap waiting to happen with all those permanent old vans and makeshift leanto shed tacked onto them.
I pulled into a “van park” near the Gold Coast last year in my 18ft caravan. There was barely enought room between my van and the permanents. My spare on the back was touching a flimsy fibro wall. I really felt closed in and vunerable.
There were old power leads running accross the ground between dongas to poles with old double adaptors hanging out of old power points with no sub break fuses.
There was not a fire hose or extinguisher anywhere to be seen. Nor was there any emergency evacuation procedure.
To me it was, if a fire started run for your life to the river and jump in with the bullsharks as it would be safer.
I couldnt wait to hook up at daylight and get out of there as quick as I could.
Hope this was reported to caravan park, or better stil work safe