Morinville firefighters battle a vehicle blaze in a lane way behind 87 Avenue Thursday night. – Stephen Dafoe Photos
by Stephen Dafoe
Morinville Fire Department, Morinville RCMP and Community Peace Officers were called to a laneway behind 97 Avenue Thursday night for a vehicle fire. The call came in around 8:30 and firefighters were soon challenged with extinguishing a pickup truck fully ablaze.
Morinville Fire Department Captain Brian Johnston said the department arrived well in time so that damage to neighbouring homes was never a factor. However, the difficulty that faced firefighters was battling the truck blaze itself. “It has a diesel fuel tank and that is what was burning,” Johnston said. “We didn’t have access to the diesel tank. We were able to put the engine compartment out, but the diesel tank was still on fire.” Johnson said fire foam was ultimately used to put out the blaze.
Vehicle may be one police looking for
Police believe the now-destroyed vehicle may have been involved in an incident earlier Thursday. “The vehicle was a suspect vehicle in a hit and run earlier today in town, and it is confirmed that the license plate at this time was stolen on the vehicle,” said Constable Todd Leach of the Morinville RCMP Detachment, declining to comment further as the matter was still under investigation.
We will monitor the story for any updates from the RCMP.