The Leesburg Township Fire Department, the Marysville Division of Fire and the Union County Sheriff’s Office responded to a camper on fire at the Shell station on Route 4 in the Pharisburg area on Monday afternoon. The fire destroyed the camper and damaged the attached vehicle. No injuries were reported.
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The Leesburg Township Fire Department and the Marysville Division of Fire were dispatched for a report of a camper on fire at the Shell gas station, 23255 Route 4, in Pharisburg, on Monday at 2:54 p.m.
David Hawkins, assistant chief of the Leesburg Township Fire Department, said the “first fire apparatus was on the scene at 3:05,” but by then the fire had fully consumed the camper. He said the fire was mostly extinguished by 3:15 p.m. However, crews remained on scene until 4:26 p.m.
The cause of the fire is undetermined because of the extent of damage, but Hawkins said “the most likely cause was the refrigerator” in the camper.
He explained that campers have propane-powered refrigerators. In a sealed system, a propane flame heats water and liquid ammonia to its boiling point in the generator. The now-gaseous material then rises into a condensing chamber, where it cools and returns to a liquid state. It then flows to the evaporator, where it mixes with hydrogen gas.
Hawkins said the fire started in the area of the refrigerator. The victims allegedly left the propane on while driving.
The fire destroyed the camper and damaged the attached vehicle, which was hauling the camper.
Hawkins said both the camper and the vehicle were towed from the scene.
No injuries were reported, he said.
Deputies from the Union County Sheriff’s Office were also on the scene.