Man dead after vehicle he was repairing caught fire in Oliver, B.C.

One person has died following a garage fire on a property in Oliver on Thursday morning.

“It was a large garage workshop separate from any other structures, approximately 100 feet by 40 feet, and a number of vehicles were inside,” said Oliver Fire Chief Bob Graham.

Fire crews discovered the man inside when they arrived, he was suffering from serious burns and was taken to hospital where he later died.

The Oliver Fire Department says the man was working on a vehicle in the garage during the time of the blaze.

“I understand from statements from his family he was working on the car, it backfired, caught on fire and subsequently caught him on fire,” said Graham.

Fire crews remained at the scene until about 4 p.m. that afternoon working to put the fire out and tending to any hot spots.

1:08 North Okanagan family loses home to fire

“Because of the style building, it was a metal roof, wood frame building, the roof collapsed in on the building. We did a defensive attack, so we were just protecting the exposures,” said Graham.

The fire did spread to nearby trees, but crews were able to contain it to just the garage, which is now a total loss.

An online fundraiser has been setup for the man.