MOUNT VERNON — According to Mount Vernon Fire Department investigators, a fire which damaged a house trailer at the Grandview Mobile Home Park at 8750 Columbus Road late Sunday night started in the crawl space under the trailer.
“The fire initiated underneath the trailer and was electrical in nature,” MVFD Assistant Chief Chris Menapace explained as crews continued to check the space under the trailer for hot spots after the fire was extinguished. “It ignited the insulation and that’s the smoke the resident saw coming into the trailer.”
As a smoke detector began sounding inside the home shortly before 9 p.m., homeowner Mary Hadelman noticed smoke coming from the ductwork in the trailer. She was able to quickly exit the home and call 9-1-1.
“Smoke detectors in trailers are paramount,” Menapace said. “Once a fire starts on the inside of a trailer, the residents truly have seconds to get out safely. Fire spreads quickly and conditions deteriorate rapidly.”
Sunday’s fire created smoke inside the trailer as flames began working in the back of the trailer.
“When the original engine companies arrived, the trailer was filled with smoke and there were flames showing in the back,” Menapace said.
MVFD Lt. Jay Laymon, a member of one of the initial engine companies to arrive after the fire was dispatched, said crews concentrated initially on making sure there was no one inside the trailer, even as they began firefighting efforts.
“One crew went into a quick life safety sweep of the trailer and a second crew ripped off the skirting and attacked the fire,” Laymon said. “We had the fire out within three minutes, and then were doing ventilation, salvage and overhaul simultaneously.”
Hadelman, whose home suffered fire damage to the exterior and smoke damage to the interior, stayed with neighbors after the fire.
