A propane tank left on overnight is likely behind a trailer explosion that rocked a Port Coquitlam neighbourhood late Saturday night, according to the camper's owner.
Sue McIntosh and her family had just returned from a camping trip Saturday and parked their trailer in the driveway of their Anderson Way home.
She admitted the propane was left on in the camper – something often done with trailers – to keep the fridge working, so the family could unpack the next morning. But something went wrong that night.
At around 11:30 p.m., a powerful blast blew the side of the camper completely off.
Pieces of the trailer flew all the way across the street, and the explosion was so loud that everyone in the neighbourhood heard the sound.
“We heard this big bang. It shook the whole house right down to the foundations, and it rattled the windows,” McIntosh told CTV News.
“We jumped out of bed and came running out here to find out what had happened and then we saw this.”
The family still isn’t sure what set off the explosion and officials have not confirmed whether or not propane was the cause.
“We have no idea, we’re just guessing at this point,” Mcintosh said. “We’re assuming that something was flicking on…because it has to be something that would cause it to blow.”
Despite the camper being completely destroyed, along with most of the items it contained, the family is just happy that no one was injured – or inside the trailer when it happened.
“There were children playing here early in the day so it was a good thing it happened ate at night when no one was around,” McIntosh said.
She said for future camping trips, the family will no longer use propane – and instead plug in to an electrical source.
With a report from CTV Vancouver's Alex Turner
