A retired police officer from British Columbia on vacation with his wife took effective action Wednesday afternoon along Highway 20 west of Philomath when he noticed a problem with the travel trailer that they were pulling.
“The driver noticed smoke coming from the camper, pulled off the side of the road, called 911 and attempted to extinguish the fire — there was active flame on the exterior of the camper at that time,” Philomath Fire and Rescue Deputy Fire Chief Rich Saalsaa said. “The flames were knocked down, which left the smoldering fire for Philomath Fire and Rescue personnel to fully extinguish.”
Philomath Fire and Rescue was dispatched at 4:47 p.m. May 22 to an area on Highway 20 just west of Woods Creek Road. The response included an engine with five personnel and Saalsaa in the role of incident commander.
No injuries were reported.
“When we arrived, we found that the camper had been unhooked from the pickup truck that was hauling it and that the driver had used a fire extinguisher to attempt to put out the fire,” Saalsaa said. “The camper was still smoldering from a deep-seated fire in the wall and floor, which had to be exposed to fully extinguish the slow-moving fire.”
Saalsaa said work on the camper had been done prior to the fire. The couple was headed west on Highway 20 toward Newport when the incident occurred.
“The metal frame of the camper had cracked and a repair was made using a welding machine several hours prior to the fire being discovered,” Saalsaa reported. “The welding operation had penetrated to inside the walls and started a smoldering fire.”
Saalsaa credited the retired police officer’s actions to preventing further damage.
Highway 20’s westbound lane was closed for approximately 20 minutes. The Benton County Sheriff’s Office assisted with traffic control.