Couple rushed to hospital following horror camper van fire at city car park

A man and a woman were taken to hospital on Monday after a camper van parked in a Stirling city centre car park caught fire.  Witnesses to the incident in the Linden Avenue car park spoke of intense flames engulfing the vehicle and black smoke belching up into the air.  It occurred about 11.30am and a 59-year-old man and 61-year-old woman were treated at the scene for burns before being taken to Forth Valley Royal Hospital. The blaze is thought to have involved a gas canister.  All that remained of the camper van on Monday afternoon was a burnt-out shell. The incident is not being treated as suspicious.  Staff at the neighbouring National Tyres fitting centre on Burghmuir Road rushed to the scene after spotting flames and smoke.  Shop manager Paddy Heaver, apprentice David McAuley and another member of staff took fire extinguishers from the garage with them.  Mr Heaver said: “I was outside with a customer and spotted the flames and smoke through the trees at the back. We grabbed fire extinguishers and ran over to see what was happening.  At that point the motorhome was well alight. It was covered in flames which were about 3ft above its roof with thick, black smoke. The people inside were already out at that point.  “The police were on the scene when we got there. The fire brigade arrived shortly after. We were told that the fire extinguishers wouldn’t have been of use.”  “We had heard that people inside the camper van had been cooking something at the time and had difficulty opening the door of the van.”  A resident neighbouring the car park, Vivien Alexander, said: “I had arrived home around noon. I noticed the car park was closed off. The place was heaving with emergency vehicles. I went upstairs to have a look. Two fire engines were spraying water on the camper van. You could see the steam coming off the vehicle.  “It was quite a sight. It did make you wonder that someone could have been badly hurt.”  A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said they were alerted at 11.29am on Monday morning, adding: “Two casualties were treated at the scene for burns and offered oxygen therapy, before being passed into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service. Crews left at 2.30pm after ensuring the area was safe.”  Stirling police constable Graeme Wellburn said this week: “A 59-year-old man and a 61-year-old woman were treated at the scene for burns and thereafter taken to the Forth Valley Royal Hospital. Inquiries into the cause of the fire, which is not being treated as suspicious, are underway.”   Click here for more news and sport from the Stirling area. Couple rushed to hospital following horror camper van fire at city car park
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Stirling,Stirling News,Forth Valley Royal Hospital,Scottish Fire and Rescue Service,Police Scotland,