‘We respond with everything with these types of fires’; emergency personnel respond to mobile home fire

ST. GEORGE — It was all hands on deck as multiple fire engines, police vehicles and a ladder truck responded to a mobile home fire reported on Dixie Downs Road early Thursday morning.

Multiple fire engines and police respond to a structure fire at a mobile home park on N. Dixie Downs Road, St. George, Utah, Dec. 5, 2019 | Photo by Cody Blowers, St. George News

Shortly before 6 a.m. officers and firefighters responded to a mobile home park on N. Dixie Downs Road on a reported structure fire involving a single-wide mobile home. Police officers were first on scene and safely evacuated the homeowner just as the first fire engines arrived, St. George Fire Battalion Chief Ken Guard said.

Firefighters entered the structure and were able to extinguish the fire burning inside near the front of the mobile home before it was able to spread to the rear of the residence or to any other homes.

“The fire was relatively small, and the engine crew was able to put it out quickly,” Guard said. “But it was getting ready to extend into the rest of the home before it was knocked down.”

Guard said the resident was informed that resources and temporary housing are available to those displaced by fire,  such as the Red Cross, but the man told fire crews he would be staying with a neighbor while the damage to the mobile home – which Guard called “relatively minor” – is repaired. No injuries were reported.

The St. George Fire Department responded with multiple engines that lined the street, which is typical whenever a structure fire is reported at a mobile home park, Guard said. Considering there are so many structures situated in such close proximity to one another, combined with the fact that mobile homes are constructed using light materials, the risk of the fire spreading to multiple homes increases significantly.

“We respond with everything with these types of fires,” he added.

The exact cause of the fire is yet to be determined, he said, but at this stage in the investigation it appears to have possibly started from an electrical issue in the front of the home.

Guard added that the danger of electrical fires increases dramatically during the holiday season, primarily due to the rise in the number Christmas tree and holiday lights that can put a strain on extension cords and electrical circuits. In fact, the National Fire Protection Association states nearly 45% of home Christmas tree fires are caused by electrical distribution or lighting equipment — and 40% the them start in the living room.

“Limit the extension cords and avoid overloading the circuits,” he said.

Guard added that extension cords are not graded to take a significant amount of electricity, and suggested monitoring any extension cords and outlets to ensure they do not overheat.

Copyright St. George News, SaintGeorgeUtah.com LLC, 2019, all rights reserved.

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