BRADFORD – Stillwater Beach Campground narrowly avoided tragedy when a travel trailer caught fire late Sunday night.
At approximately 11:30 p.m. Sunday, emergency personnel from Bradford Fire and Rescue, along with mutual aid from Gettysburg and Versailles fire departments were dispatched to 8408 Versailles Southeastern Road in regards to a camper fire.
Arriving units found a fully involved travel trailer located at lot H19 with heavy smoke and flames showing.
According to authorities on scene, tragedy was averted with the quick response of neighboring campers who not only reported the fire but acted swiftly to disconnect and remove the propane tanks from the structure before it was too late.
The 1990s Starcraft travel trailer was a complete loss, however, units were able to quickly knock down and contain the fire, minimizing heat and smoke damage to surrounding structures, which were noted to be in close proximity of each other.
The owner of the trailer, who was just at the location earlier in the day doing yard work, believes a refrigerator with a history of being faulty is to blame for the fire.
“It (the refrigerator) has been giving me trouble since we moved the trailer back when I bought it in May or June,” he said. “I was just here around 4:30 this afternoon and checked all the fuses thinking that’s what the problem might have been. Everything looked good but a fuse I replaced to a small radio.”
The fire remains under investigation by the Bradford Fire Department.
