Fire burns beneath bridge

Kamloops Fire Rescue crews knocked down a blaze burning out of control Wednesday night in a pair of burning shopping carts beneath the Overlanders Bridge.

KFR platoon Capt. Will Harlock told Castanet Kamloops four firefighters responded with community service officers responded to the blaze at about 9:30 p.m.

“It was transient caused,” he said.

Harlock said the two shopping carts filled with burned personal affects were ablaze beneath the north side of the bridge — located along the beach just west of the Henry Grube Centre.

Harlock said no injuries were reported, nor was there any structural damage done to the Overlanders Bridge.

“There was no damage or anything like that to the pilings, the structure of the bridge,” he said, noting the fire created a large amount of smoke.

“The crews just extinguished the fire and left the scene.”

Harlock said the fire is not being investigated other than a pending report from their fire prevention division.

Asked if the fire is considered suspicious, Harlock said that will be difficult to determine. He noted there’s no component on a shopping cart to cause the fire without human intervention, but it’s also a possibility the fire was started for warmth.

“Shopping carts don’t have brakes on them to cause a brake fire,” he said.

Regardless, Harlock pointed out that the city’s bylaws prohibit all campfires within city limits, and that supersedes any allowance from the BC Wildfire Service. He noted the city limits include Cooney Bay.

Harlock said KFR responds to campfires along the beach every once in a while, and, as winter approaches and temperatures drop, if people have a warm place to spend the night, firefighters stand to attend fewer of these calls.

KFR also doused burning garbage at a camp along the Thompson River on Mission Flats this past weekend.

In September, a fire burned under the Red Bridge at its south end. Two days later an apparent arson, which investigators believe started in the middle of the wooden bridge, destroyed the span.