An investigation into the cause of a caravan fire at Soliders Point on Wednesday has found it was sparked by a piece of shoddy camping gear.
The mobile home was unoccupied and attached to a car parked on Soldiers Point Road when it ignited just before 2pm.
It activated the smoke alarm and alerted the owner, who lives nearby.
The quick-thinking owner sprang into action, detaching the caravan from the vehicle and calling Triple Zero.
It took firefighters less than an hour to get the flames extinguished, but not before the motor home was completely destroyed.
Thankfully no one was injured during the incident.
An investigation into what sparked the inferno found it was caused by a faulty gas refrigerator.
Fire & Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said Liquid Petroleum Gas commonly used for a range of camping equipment.
“LPG is an excellent fuel for heating, cooking and powering camping refrigerators and is safe if used and maintained correctly, however, if stored or used incorrectly it can become extremely dangerous,” Superintendent Dewberry said.
“Firefighters recommend that LPG equipment is inspected regularly, as fires are too often caused by a faulty or loose connection.”
He also noted the difference made in the situation by the smoke alarm.
“It is pleasing to see a working smoke alarm was present inside this caravan,” Superintendent Dewberry said.
“Fire crews remind all caravan owners that NSW legislation requires them to have at least one smoke alarm where the bed is inside the van, and one in the annex if people are sleeping there.”