Fire on BC Ferries' Brand New Coastal Inspiration

BC ferry sailing from Tsawwassen to Duke Point was forced to return to port Friday afternoon after a van on board the ship caught on fire.

All 552 passengers on the 12:45 p.m. sailing of the Coastal Inspiration disembarked without injury.

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Passenger Jim Muir said 20 minutes into the trip from Tsawwassen to Duke Point, the crew announced the ferry would be returning to dock due to a vehicle fire. All passengers were asked to remain in the cafeteria and lounge area.


"There was smoke on the main deck - quite a lot of smoke," he said. He said he saw two firetrucks and an ambulance waiting at the ferry terminal as passengers disembarked.

Deputy Chief Rick Lehbauer of the Delta fire department said the fire was contained to one vehicle and that there were no injuries or mishaps during evacuation.

"There was minimal damage, probably some maintenance issues to the ferry," he said.

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BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said all 201 vehicles were left on board while Delta firefighters responded to the call.

Marshall said that the vessel's sprinkler system was turned on on the car decks once crew learned of the fire.

Marshall said it was too early to say how the fire would affect ferry scheduling during the weekend, or if there was another vessel that could be called into replacement service if that was necessary. The fire comes on a weekend that already could be the perfect storm for traffic on BC Ferries, with travellers expected to face one of the busiest weekends of the year.

While ferry travel is always busy on a summer weekend -- the August long weekend is the busiest of them all -- BC Ferry officials had already predicted a traffic surge tonight and Sunday night.

"Lots of families will take their holidays the first two weeks of August or the last two weeks of August, so we've dubbed this 'the mid-August changeover weekend,' " Marshall said. This weekend's load will likely be seven to 10 per cent higher than other summer weekends.

Add in a forecast that calls for heat and sunshine and you've already got a recipe for long lineups.