Officials release cause of fire that destroyed trailer home
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ST. ANTHONY – An overheated extension cord connected to a freezer was determined to be the cause of a trailer fire last week.
The South Fremont Fire Department responded to a fire at a single-wide trailer with an attached porch on Friday at 2:40 p.m. on the 700 block of South Second East in St. Anthony.
Fire Chief Chris Hill told EastIdahoNews.com a husband and wife lived in the home and the wife was home at the time. She reported the fire to 911 and was able to get out safely.
Hill said firefighters knocked the bulk of the fire down within 10 minutes of arrival but stayed until 4:30 p.m. to make sure everything was okay.
The fire was contained mostly to the front porch but the rest of the trailer had smoke and heat damage. It’s considered a total loss, according to Hill.
He said the damages are estimated at $100,000 for the trailer and roughly $50,000 for the contents. Hill added there was a vehicle in the front of the trailer that sustained minor heat damage.
No injuries were reported.
A state fire marshal came to investigate the cause of the fire and Hill said it was an overheated extension cord going to a freezer that was out in the yard.
“They had a freezer out in their front yard and then a cord running to it was kind of going across the front of the porch. It appears as though that cord shorted out and started the grass on fire around the porch and consequently caught the porch on fire,” Hill said.
It’s a good reminder to be mindful, Hill said.
“Don’t overheat your circuits and be careful. The grass is getting dry. You want to be really careful. Anything that causes a spark can quickly move right into your structure,” he said.
The Red Cross, along with the Chaplains of Idaho, responded to help.
