Fire destroyed a home in the Cottonwood Trailer Court Wednesday evening.
Hanover Fire Chief Paul Wiebe says they were dispatched at around 7:20 pm. He notes crews arrived to find a fully involved fire, with flames already shooting through the roof.
Wiebe says there was nobody home at the time, however, crews did not immediately know that and were quickly making attempts to extinguish the blaze in order to prepare for a search. He notes eventually the homeowner arrived and was able to confirm that there was nobody inside.
Wiebe says often when they respond to a structure fire, it is called in by either the homeowner or somebody with knowledge of whether or not there are occupants inside. In this case, it was called in by neighbours who did not know if there was anybody home. Wiebe says there was actually a considerable length of time Wednesday when they feared there could be a resident inside.
"We're always assuming that there could be," he says. "At (Wednesday's) call when we arrived, we started defensive actions as it was not safe to enter the building at that time. Once we extinguished most of the fire, then we were able to make entry to do a search. However, by the time we were to that point, the homeowner had already arrived on scene and identified himself and given us that information."
Wiebe says there is definitely a different mindset when firefighters fear there may be someone inside, instead of just a piece of property that is being damaged.
According to Wiebe, the trailer will likely be a total loss. There is also exposure damage to the homes on either side, but he says they were able to save those. Crews were on scene for more than two hours.
Wiebe says the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but at this point, it is being deemed accidental.
There is an initial damage estimate of $150,000.
Wiebe says there were no injuries.
Meanwhile, Wiebe stresses the importance of having an escape plan. He notes particularly in a mobile home, it is crucial to have a plan, simply because of how difficult it is to fight these fires. Wiebe says it does not take much to burn through the thin walls and there is usually a heavy fuel load with all of the components. He adds furniture is also extremely flammable.
"People don't have a lot of time to exit homes these days once the fire starts," he says.
A GoFundMe page has been set up to help the resident with his loss.