Photo by Paul Everest/London Community News
Firefighters examine a GMC pickup truck that went up in flames behind a barn on a property near the intersection of Highbury Avenue and Sunningdale Road Saturday night (May 5).
Const. Walter Lavacher of the London Police Service was filling out paperwork in his cruiser across the road from a home on Highbury Avenue just south of Sunningdale Road Saturday night (May 5) when he heard a bang.
“I came over and saw a car engulfed in flames,” he said.
The car was actually a GMC pickup truck that was destroyed by fire just before 10 p.m.
Richard Howell, who rents a home on the property where the fire broke out, said he was watching a movie with his family when a police officer knocked on the door and informed him there had been an explosion and a fire had started behind a barn roughly 20 metres from the house.
“The police officer came to the door and thought the barn was on fire,” he said. “We booted outside.”
Howell, who also serves as a caretaker for the property, said when he arrived at the burning truck its gas tank blew up.
“It’s a small little pop that startles you,” he said, adding he has witnessed a vehicle’s gas tank explode before.
The London Fire Service put out the fire quickly and the blaze did not spread to the barn.
No one was injured and a fire department spokesman at the scene said the cause of the fire is not known and the truck belongs to a landscaper who parks the truck on the property.
Howell said when he came upon the truck he noticed one of its doors was open, but he added it could have come open as a result of the intense fire.
Howell’s daughter, Kezia, said she was downstairs listening to music in her room when she heard a “boom.”
“I thought it was glasses breaking,” she said, adding she wasn’t aware of the blaze until a friend sent her a text message informing her there was a fire in her backyard.
When asked if the fire is being considered as suspicious, police at the scene said investigators were just starting to look at a cause.
Photo by Paul Everest/London Community News
Firefighters examine a GMC pickup truck that went up in flames behind a barn on a property near the intersection of Highbury Avenue and Sunningdale Road Saturday night (May 5).
Const. Walter Lavacher of the London Police Service was filling out paperwork in his cruiser across the road from a home on Highbury Avenue just south of Sunningdale Road Saturday night (May 5) when he heard a bang.
“I came over and saw a car engulfed in flames,” he said.
The car was actually a GMC pickup truck that was destroyed by fire just before 10 p.m.
Richard Howell, who rents a home on the property where the fire broke out, said he was watching a movie with his family when a police officer knocked on the door and informed him there had been an explosion and a fire had started behind a barn roughly 20 metres from the house.
“The police officer came to the door and thought the barn was on fire,” he said. “We booted outside.”
Howell, who also serves as a caretaker for the property, said when he arrived at the burning truck its gas tank blew up.
“It’s a small little pop that startles you,” he said, adding he has witnessed a vehicle’s gas tank explode before.
The London Fire Service put out the fire quickly and the blaze did not spread to the barn.
No one was injured and a fire department spokesman at the scene said the cause of the fire is not known and the truck belongs to a landscaper who parks the truck on the property.
Howell said when he came upon the truck he noticed one of its doors was open, but he added it could have come open as a result of the intense fire.
Howell’s daughter, Kezia, said she was downstairs listening to music in her room when she heard a “boom.”
“I thought it was glasses breaking,” she said, adding she wasn’t aware of the blaze until a friend sent her a text message informing her there was a fire in her backyard.
When asked if the fire is being considered as suspicious, police at the scene said investigators were just starting to look at a cause.
