LAKE PLACID - Driving a van with a lit woodstove inside probably isn't illegal.
The Lake Placid Volunteer Fire Department received a call at 2:39 a.m. Wednesday about a van on fire in the parking lot of the Best Western Adirondack Inn, on Main Street. When volunteers arrived, they found out that the smoke pouring from the roof of the full-sized van was coming from the woodstove inside.
The first row of seats in the van behind the driver's seat had been removed to make room for the woodstove, and the smoke had been coming from the chimney, which exited the vehicle through a hole in the roof.
The van's occupants were apparently hotel tenants. The fire department didn't have any further information about them, as there was no need for volunteers to take action once it was determined they didn't need to put out the fire.
Village police Sgt. Carol Hayes said the department was investigating the matter, but there doesn't appear to be a law against driving a van with a lit woodstove in it.
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Contact Nathan Brown at (518) 891-2600 ext. 26 or nbrown@adirondackdailyenterprise.com.