A Galloway home was destroyed by fire on Tuesday afternoon last week.
The trailer, in Caithness Trailer Court, caught fire at around 2:30 p.m., said Sergeant Dave Dubnyk from the Elk Valley RCMP.
“Earlier in the day, the home owner was attempting to thaw out some frozen lines using a heat gun.
“In doing so, some of the floor insulation in the trailer caught fire. He managed to grab that and get rid of the burning insulation.”
Thinking the fire was completely extinguished, the home owner went to Cranbrook with a friend to buy groceries.
“Then it went up in flames so there must have been some smouldering embers when he left,” said Sgt. Dubnyk.
Since the trailer park is outside the fire protection area, no fire department attended.
“It was outside a fire protection area. There was nothing our officer could do other than making sure the fire wasn’t going to spread to other structures in the area,” said Sgt. Dubnyk.
“Apparently it is not uncommon for people to thaw out their pipes this way. Obviously it is not recommended and highly dangerous.”
The siding on a neighbouring trailer was badly melted but the fire did not spread to other trailers.
The owner, who is unemployed and has no home insurance, lost his cat in the fire.