A fire that started in a boat has forced a family of three to move out of their damaged mobile home until repairs can be made.
The Saline Valley Fire Protection District was called at 12:26 a.m. this morning (Nov. 30) about a boat on fire in the 700 block of Fieldcrest Drive in the Fenton area.
When firefighters arrived about five minutes later, they found the boat sitting on a trailer in a driveway. Most of the fire in the boat was out but a few flames were still visible, Deputy Chief Joseph LaPlant said.
“Fiberglass burns pretty fast. When we got there, there was not a lot of fire left,” LaPlant said.
Unfortunately, however, the fire had spread to the adjacent mobile home.
“The mobile home began to catch and we had to pull off the siding,” LaPlant said.
Firefighters quickly had the fire under control.
The cause of the fire was “believed to be electrical,” LaPlant said.
A battery charger was hooked to the boat from the mobile home, he said.
He said two residents, a mother and son, were at home at the time of the fire.
“The son was up playing video games and smelled smoke. He woke his mother and she looked out and saw the fire,” LaPlant said.
Once the fire was out, fire officials revoked the occupancy permit for the mobile home, he said.
The family spent the night with neighbors, but the American Red Cross was working with the them this morning to help them find living accommodations, LaPlant said.
Initially, Saline Valley called High Ridge, Fenton and Rock Community fire protection districts for help, but canceled the request after Saline arrived on the scene.
“We handled it with just our three trucks,” LaPlant said.