Work trailer burns at Friends of the Carpenter

A fire burned an trailer containing construction waste Saturday at Friends of the Carpenter ministry in Vancouver, but the blaze didn’t spread to the building.

The fire was reported at 10:32 a.m. in an open-topped trailer filled wood scraps, trash and plastic outside the building at 1600 W. 20th St., Vancouver Fire firefighter/paramedic Pete Adams said.

Smoke and flames were visible from the trailer when a fire engine, fire truck and battalion chief responded. The fire was extinguished in less than 10 minutes, Adams said. The fire marshal is investigating the cause of the blaze, he said.

Friends of the Carpenter was closed at the time, but a day center for the homeless was open in another part of the building.

Tom Iberle, Executive Director of Friends of the Carpenter, said the trailer was supposed to be unloaded at the dump Friday but had a low tire.

Nothing of value was damaged, but Iberle said he was surprised the refuse in the trailer ignited, considering that it was soaking wet from the rain.

“Our best guess is it was probably a cigarette butt,” he said Saturday afternoon. “Under the circumstances, I think we’re all breathing a sigh of relief, and we just need to be a little more careful about where people are smoking and what they do with their butts when they’re done.”