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Blaze destroys trailer in Fort Smith
Fire department and mayor warn residents in wake of grass fire that spread to home

Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Monday, May 25, 2015

THEBACHA/FORT SMITH
Residents of Fort Smith are being cautioned to be careful with fire after a trailer home was virtually destroyed by a blaze on May 13.

NNSL photo/graphic

This trailer home in Fort Smith was virtually destroyed by fire on May 13. The grass fire that caused the damage is under investigation. - Paul Bickford/NNSL photo

Karl Cox, a captain with the Fort Smith Fire Department, said the trailer caught on fire because of burning grass.

How the grass fire started is under investigation according to Cox, although it may have spread more quickly because of the recent hot and dry conditions.

The investigation is being conducted by Bill Reimer, an assistant fire marshal with the Department of Municipal and Community Affairs.

Speaking last week, Reimer said the investigation was not complete.

The trailer home was destroyed, said Cox.

"It's a write off," he said.

This is a common thing when trailers catch fire.

"It gets into the floor," he explained.

"There was a porch on that trailer and the fire fully involved the porch, and then it got in between the porch and the trailer wall itself and down into the floor of the trailer and the crawlspace. Once it gets in there, it's a lot of work to get it out."

The trailer home, where one person lived, is located at Towering Pines Trailer Park.

A shed was also burned by the fire, which is suspected to have started around the noon hour.

Cox had no estimate of the cost of the damage.

While the trailer was a loss, two pets were saved from the fire.

"We did pull a couple of dogs out of there," said Cox, adding the resident was not at home at the time.

As of last week there is no fire ban in Fort Smith but permits are required for all burning outside of a constructed or self-contained fire pit. The town will give a burning permit depending on weather conditions.

"A lot of it is just common sense," said Cox.

"If it's dry and windy

and you have other alternatives to burning then don't burn."

Mayor Brad Brake is also concerned about the threat of fire because of the recent hot weather.

"We need to take extra care," he said.

"People need to be smart. If you don't need a fire, don't have one unless you absolutely have to have a fire. It's windy. It's dry."

Brake said people should especially not leave any fire unattended.

"If the wind was higher, it could have possibly been more," he said, adding the fire was in a residential area where there are also many campers and recreational vehicles.

Brake praised the efforts of the town's firefighters in putting out the fire.

"We had two firefighters affected by heat exhaustion fighting that fire," he said, pointing out they were wearing heavy bunker gear on a 27 C day and also were affected by heat from the fire.

"That's dangerous for our people."

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