Firefighters respond to RCMP vehicle fire Friday night

Altona Rhineland Emergency Services (ARES) responded to a vehicle fire Friday night at Neuhorst.

According to Chief Greg Zimmerman, when crews arrived at the scene located southwest of Altona and just north of the U.S. border, they found the SUV fully engulfed in flames.

It's Zimmerman's understanding the lone officer in the vehicle had previously been driving through a hay field, and the hay had accumulated under it near the catalytic converter. He added, when the officer stopped on a road after exiting the field, the hay ignited setting the vehicle on fire.

The male officer safely escaped the vehicle.

PembinaValleyOnline has reached out to Manitoba RCMP for additional details.