Fire officials said a man is lucky to be alive after he escaped a fire in his RV parked in the East Minnehaha neighborhood Tuesday morning.
A passerby called 911 about 7:45 a.m. after seeing flames coming from the RV, parked near the The Grove at 72nd apartment complex, 5302 N.E. 72nd Ave., Clark County Deputy Fire Marshal Susan Anderson said.
The man inside was able to get out by crawling through a window, Anderson said. Crews from the Vancouver Fire Department arrived and quickly put out the blaze.
Anderson said the man had lit a candle in a Styrofoam cup, fell asleep and woke up to flames.
“He had just enough time to get out,” she said.
The RV, a 1978 Tioga, was destroyed and the man was displaced but had a friend in town to stay with. Damage to the vehicle and contents was an estimated $3,500, Anderson said.
She said that the lesson to take away from the blaze was to always keep candles in a noncombustible container.