Sebastopol mobile home park fire forces evacuations

A fire at a Sebastopol mobile home park Thursday afternoon rendered one home uninhabitable and forced the evacuation of several others as firefighters worked to contain the blaze.

Authorities received reports of heavy black smoke, which was coming from a mobile home in Fircrest Mobile Home Park on Redwood Avenue at 2:52 p.m. Thursday. When firefighters from the Sebastopol Fire Department arrived, they saw that the porch and entryway to the home were in flames, said Sebastopol Fire Chief Bill Braga.

Before firefighters arrived, a construction crew that was working in the area saw the smoke and ran over to hook up their hose line to a fire hydrant to try and put some water on the fire, an effort that Braga said “helped us a lot.”

Firefighters were unable to enter the home right away because there was too much heat and smoke inside the building. They ventilated the building by using chainsaws to open up the home and allow the fire and smoke to escape so they could go inside and more aggressively fight the fire.

Braga said it was a “tough fire to fight” because there were a lot of personal belongings inside the home. It took firefighters two hours to contain the blaze.

One third of the mobile home was in flames, Braga said. Although firefighters saved the rest of the home from burning, the building still sustained heat and smoke damage that made the home uninhabitable.

No one was injured in the fire. The resident was not home at the time of the fire.

Because mobile homes burn very hot and fast, Braga said officials evacuated the residents in a few neighboring mobile homes for their safety.

Braga said the fire appears to have started in the front of the mobile home, possibly in the front porch area, before moving inside. The cause of the fire is unknown at this time, though.

Firefighters from Gold Ridge Fire Protection District and Graton Fire Department assisted the Sebastopol Fire Department with the blaze. The Red Cross was also called to assist the homeowner who was displaced by the fire.

You can reach Staff Writer Chantelle Lee at 707-521-5337 or chantelle.lee@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @ChantelleHLee.