About 500 passengers on board a B.C. ferry faced some tense moments Friday when a fire broke out on the car deck, causing the boat to make a u turn.
Smoke began billowing from a cube van on the vehicle deck, about 15 minutes after the vessel had set sail fromTsawwassen. It was headed for Duke Point when the captain immediately turned the boat around, and returned to Tsawwassen, where the vessel was evacuated.
Emergency responders were called to the scene. But no injuries were reported on board the Coastal Inspiration, one of BC Ferries' new boats.
Still, the fire delayed the Friday lunch hour sailing to Duke Point by about five hours.
BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall confirmed that the fire broke out at around 1:00 p.m., prompting the ferry crew to halt the trip to Duke Point.
Marshall said the ferry's fire system was deployed.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Peter Grainger.
