Britt Santowski
Sooke News Mirror
Sunriver saw a bit of action just before 3 p.m. on Wednesday June 4. A 2001 Ford Escort caught fire in front of a house on Driftwood. Owner of the car, Troy Dawkins, said he smelled plastic and 10 minutes later saw smoke coming from the car. His wife, Crystal Dawkins, said it took the fire department about 20 minutes to show up with the big truck that could put the fire out.
Fire Chief Steven Sorensen provided clarification on the Sooke News Mirror Facebook page.
“Just to clarify the response time of the Sooke Fire Rescue Service to this incident. After listening to the communication tapes, the ‘big’ fire truck arrived 13 minutes and 6 seconds after receiving the call. As we have to wait for the volunteer firefighters to come from their homes, this is a very good time considering the distance to travel.”
Both Crystal and Troy think the explosions came from a tire that exploded in the fire. While the garage door was slightly damaged, the house was unaffected. No one was hurt in the incident.