No one was injured when a mobile home caught fire early Sunday morning. According to a Jacksonville Fire Department report, crews were dispatched to a structure fire in a mobile home located at 1042 East Morton Avenue at 1:39 am Sunday.
Mike Hopper with the Jacksonville Fire Department says the fire was already mostly contained when they arrived. “When we got on scene, everyone was out of the trailer. There were animals, two snakes, two dogs, and two cats still in it. But JPD officers had sprayed a dry chem into the trailer, basically snuffing the fire out. When we got there it was just in a smoldering state.
We went in and did a search on the trailer, all the animals were accounted for and fine. We put the fire out with water cans, two PWC extinguishers. We never did pull any lines or anything because it wasn’t necessary and then we overhauled a little bit, removed debris, and investigated to see what we thought started the fire.”
The owner of the home told fire officials he suspected that one of the cats had knocked a heat lamp off of the snake enclosure, causing the fire to start. Hopper says their investigation indicated the heat lamp was the probable cause of the fire but it remains undetermined at this time.
The owner said he and his wife were staying at a friend’s house and were not home at the time. A Jacksonville Police officer on scene broke the windows in the front kitchen and dining area of the home and discharged the dry chemical extinguisher through the window.
Damages are estimated at $1,000 to the structure and $500 to the contents of the home. Fire crews were on scene for approximately 35 minutes.