Man uninjured when snowmobile catches fire

It's the third time Barry Anderson's snowmobile has caught fire since last year and he said for him the enjoyment has gone out of the ride. Mr. Anderson's snowmobile is only 3 years old. He bought it in 2006.

A few weeks ago his son took it out to go to the cabin. He smelled smoke and looked behind him to see the machine had caught fire. He managed to get the fire put out without any injury to him but he was nervous about restarting the machine. He had a cell phone and was able to call for help.

Mr. Andersen said he has been told that his is the only 600-model BRP (Bombardier Recreational Products) snowmobile that is having this problem, but he said he has his doubts.

Last year BRP, the company who makes the snowmobile recalled some 2005 and 2007 snowmobiles after some of them had caught fire or blown up.

When BRB issued the recall last year, they placed a large amount of the blame for the problems on Labrador's cold dry weather and the length of time fuel was stored before being used.

They replaced either parts of snowmobiles or the entire machine depending on individual circumstances.

Mr. Anderson has been to Notre Dame Agencies where he bought the machine and they replaced the ruined part all three times. He said that isn't enough and he wants answers as to why this is happening.

"It's no good for them to replace the rubber runnet. We know it's going to happen again. Something is seriously going wrong here."

He said he has asked what is causing the fires and has tried to get answers from management but has gotten no response. At first he said he was told there was nothing wrong, it happens and it's normal but he said he's not happy with that answer.

He said he's frustrated with the situation and he'd sooner trade his snowmobile in but he knows he would be taking a big loss.

He said he just wants someone to tell him what is causing the problem, so it can be really fixed and he can know that it's fixed. Right now he's not comfortable taking the snowmobile and driving it or having anyone else on it.

"I'm not comfortable taking that machine and going to the cabin. I have a new grandson who's 9 months old and I'm not comfortable putting him on the front with me for the drive to the cabin."

Thinking about the snowmobiles that blew up in Rigolet last year makes him uneasy he said.

"They could have had the same problem as mine does and I've just been lucky," he said.

The Labradorian contacted management at Notre Dame agencies to ask if they had contacted BRB or if they could explain the cause of the fires but they refused to comment. The Labradorian also contacted BRP but did not receive a reply before publishing time.

reporter@thelarbadorian.ca