Victim services have been called in to support a family after a man died in a fire at a Coquitlam mobile home park Tuesday.
Coquitlam RCMP have confirmed there was a victim in the blaze that started at Wildwood Mobile Home Park, 201 Cayer St., just before 11 a.m. Tuesday morning but would not release the name of the victim.
“One of the units was fully engulfed. There was a body located inside the trailer,” said Staff Sgt. Tony Porato.
Neighbours said it was an elderly man who died in the fire.
Neighbour Dave Evans said he saw the smoke pouring out of the home and tried to gain entry but smoke and heat forced him back.
“I couldn’t get in the door, it was thicker than hell — the flames,” said Evans.
He called in to the house but heard no answer.
“I don’t think I could have gone in,” Evans told the Tri-City News, “I wouldn’t have gotten out.”
Two other mobile homes were scorched from the heat of the blaze and five firefighting crews plus a chief officer arrived on the scene to get the fire under control, according to Coquitlam fire chief Jim Ogloff.
Ogloff said snowy conditions didn’t hamper the truck access or the crews. Still, the mobile home sustained extensive damage. Neighbours waiting outside their homes said the fire knocked out their electricity and left them waiting in the cold.
Staff Sgt. Porato said police would be working with the coroner and fire investigators to determine the cause of the blaze, but foul play was not suspected.
Evans remembered the victim as someone with a sense of humour whose homemade scooter bore the sign, ”If you think this scooter is ugly, you should see the driver.”
Investigators from the BC Coroners Office arrived to recover the body and complete an investigation.
— with files from Stefan Labbe
