Fire consumes RV near Fiesta Fun Center

ST. GEORGE — A fire that engulfed an RV in the storage lot of a local business near the Fiesta Fun Center in St. George was quickly doused be responding firefighters Thursday afternoon.

At the scene of an RV fire located in the storage yard of a local business across the street from the Fiesta Family Fun Center in St. George, Utah, March 26, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

The St. George Fire Department received a report of a vehicle fire in the area of 1160 South and 100 East around 3:30 p.m. As they approached the area, St. George Fire Chief Robert Stoker said, “We could see there was a bit of smoke and fire.”

The plume of smoke created by the fire was visible from the highway and several blocks around the area.

Firefighters originally worried that the burning RV was on a sales yard with other RVs close by, which had the potential to spread other vehicles. Fortunately, the RV was in a storage yard where vehicles and other potentially flammable material were set far apart from each other.

“They do up rather quickly,” Stoker said.

Onlookers who saw the fire from the St. George skate park across the street said they heard popping and a possible explosion. Initially, scanner reports mentioned a propane tank may have exploded, but Stoker said that wasn’t likely due to such tanks being designed to vent when heated.

At the scene of an RV fire located in the storage yard of a local business across the street from the Fiesta Family Fun Center in St. George, Utah, March 26, 2020 | Photo by Mori Kessler, St. George News

Whatever explosions were heard could have been aerosol or paint cans left inside the RV, Stoker said.

The fire looked like it started in the cab of the RV and continued on to consume the rest of the vehicle to the point of being a total loss, Stoker said, adding the cause of the fire is currently unknown and is being investigated.

Though the vehicles in the storage yard were not as densely packed together as they would have been on a sales lot, Stoker said vehicles near the torched RV did experience some slight damage to their exteriors.

While firefighters extinguish the RV fire, St. George Police officers blocked off a segment of 1160 South and 100 East to traffic so it wouldn’t interfere with firefighter operations.

No one was harmed in the fire and the scene was reopened by 5 p.m.

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Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2020, all rights reserved.

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