Truck burns near site of massive Brandon blaze

As a small crowd of people gathered to look over the destruction in downtown Brandon, down the street a truck burst into flames Sunday afternoon.

Truck owner Scott Bickerton said he had just parked his truck and walked away to survey the damage from Saturday's blaze, which burned several buildings to the ground. A few minutes later, his Ford F-150 started smoking. 

"I ran back, got as much stuff out as I could, and it blew up," he said. "Flames were coming out of the hood."

Bickerton said he has no idea why his truck caught fire, adding it was in good shape.

"I just got off the highway, back from camping and … that's weird, that's really weird."

Around noon on Saturday, crews began fighting flames billowing out of the Christie's Office Plus building at Seventh and Pacific Avenue in the southwestern Manitoba city.

The fire later spread to two additional buildings in the 500 block of Pacific Avenue: Massey Manor, an apartment building across the street from the Christie's building and a neighbouring strip mall. The flames also spread to a nearby beer vendor and former nightclub. 

Sunday, crews were still putting out hot spots and bewildered Brandonites were doing their best to make sense of the damage. 

Bickerton said he uses the truck for everything, including getting to and from work.

"I'll have to figure [out how to get to work] pretty quick."