A man in his 90s was being treated in intensive care Sunday night for burns and smoke inhalation after spending several minutes trapped in a burning camper Sunday morning.

Joe Hebert, 92, was huddled in a closet with his pet dog when son Charles found him Sunday morning.

Charles was at church when the fire broke out inside the Bel Air camper he shared with his dad. He returned to the River View Campsite and RV Park in Dallas shortly before noon and was startled by the site of smoke.

“It’s a good thing I didn’t go for coffee or something,” he said.

Other residents at the campsite had tried to rescue Hebert, but were turned back by a wall of smoke. Charles said he was handed a garden hose as he charged into the blackness.

It didn’t take long to find Joe, who must have moved into the closet when he wasn’t able to escape through one of two doorways, said his son.

Charles was unable to pull his father from the camper. Fortunately, firefighters arrived in time to get Hebert to safety, said Fire and Rescue operations chief Andy Philpot.

With the occupants safe, the primary concern became snuffing out the blaze before it burned through the exterior and threatened nearby campers and mobile homes, said Philpot.

“Once they catch, they burn very fast,” he said.

River View resident Wilbur Marchand was going fishing when he saw the first plume of smoke rise above the park. He said a couple of neighbours tried to go inside but couldn’t get through the door.

“As soon as you tried going in, the smoke choked you,” said Marchand.

Ron Delisle, another resident, doesn’t know how long his elderly neighbour was in the camper before the fire became visible. He said firefighters appeared within minutes of a phone call to 911.

Rita McMullen is the park’s co-manager. She said the Heberts have lived at the park for 17 years and are good tenants.

“They always pay the rent,” she said.

Charles doesn’t know what he will do next. He said the camper was not insured.

Firefighters tended to his father until paramedics arrived. Joe was taken by ambulance to Royal Inland Hospital, where he remains in intensive care. His dog was taken into the care of the Kamloops SPCA.

The cause of the fire is under investigation.