Officials warn mobile home residents to fire proof their units

A fire raged through a mobile home in Pender County yesterday, killing a family of four.

And all too sadly, this isn’t the first time children in our area have died in a mobile home blaze. Last year two young boys died in a mobile home fire in Leland. Officials say the scary part is how quickly these units catch and go up in flames.

The names of the family of four that died in this fire have not been released as yet.

Unfortunately this fire is not an isolated incident and has many concerned.

Sheila Newton remembers standing in her front yard when three of her neighbors’ mobile homes caught on fire last April. “By the time I came back out here, and waited on the fire department, this place was rolling in flames.”

To this day, Newton still lives in fear after watching homes just like hers burn to the ground.

Residents are taking precautions; they are installing new smoke detectors and surveillance video outside their homes.”

Sunday’s early morning blaze apparently started in the middle of the night. By the time the fire department got there, it was too late.

Now, more than ever, officials warn residents to take every precaution to fire-proof their mobile units. They say their construction makes them “burn like paper.”

Scott Garner of Brunswick County Emergency Services, said, “In the past, a lot of these were constructed with paneling and light weight construction so pretty much everything in there was wood, with a finish on it, that would burn and burn quickly.”

Although the cause of the Sunday’s fire is still under investigation, officials say most winter fires are caused by space heaters.

Officials say mobile homes can burn within minutes, and happen too fast for the fire departments to reach them in time.