Wheelie bin blaze destroyed family’s beloved camper van
A YOUNG family in south Manchester had their beloved camper van destroyed after a wheelie bin outside their home was intentionally set on fire.
On Tuesday evening, Jason, 34, from Chorlton, discovered the blue bin on his driveway was on fire after hearing a loud bang outside his home on Upper Chorlton Street.
By the time he spotted the fire, Jason said it had already spread to the Volkswagen Transporter he and his family had converted into a camper van.
“I went upstairs to check on the kids as I initially thought they might have fallen out of bed, but they were fine,” Jason told the M.E.N.
“I heard an alarm going off outside so I went out to have a look and realised the alarm was coming from my van as I saw some flames coming out of the bonnet.”
Jason says he then ran upstairs to get his wife and two children, aged one and three, out of the house as he was worried the fire would escalate.
He says by that time the heat of the fire had caused the outer pane of their front room window to crack.
A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Combined Authority confirmed they were called to the address on Upper Chorlton Street at 10.31pm on July 7.
One fire engine from Moss Side fire station attended, and two hoses and a breathing apparatus was used to extinguish the fire.
They were at the scene for approximately 40 minutes.
“They responded really quickly, and we’re pretty fortunate about that,” Jason added.
“It looks like it was started in the wheelie bin and then has spread to the van and the front room window. We found a box of matches on the floor by the bin. I don’t want to think what could have happened if it had been another five minutes.”
Jason says they had owned the £20,000 vehicle for a couple of years and had converted it into a camper van so they could go on more family trips together.
“We were supposed to go away at the start of lockdown for a six-week trip with the kids, but obviously that got cancelled,” he added.
“We were planning to use it in the summer and go away for the odd weekends, but it’s a complete write-off now.
“It’s only a possession but it’s hard because it’s something that we’ve had some good times with and put a lot of effort into.”
Jason said he was speaking about the incident as he wanted to highlight the dangers of wheelie bin fires.
“You’d never think you need to worry about something like this by keeping them by your house or by your windows,” he says.
“It’s just worth thinking about the risk and trying to control it.”
To prevent wheelie bin fires, Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service recommends keeping bins out of plain sight and storing bins at least a metre away from the home and from windows and doors.
It is also advised not to store bins under covered areas attached to the house, such as a porch.
Greater Manchester Police have been contacted for comment on the incident.