The Clark County Coroner’s Office has confirmed the victim is a man, but dental records will need to be used to determine full identity. He was 59, Deputy Chris Clark said.
Firefighters said the fire caused extensive damage and in a short amount of time.
“They go very fast. A lot of smoke. Floors are really weak. The more water you put on it the weaker they get,” said Pleasant Twp. Fire Chief Mike Willis, referring to what crews face in a mobile home fire. “You really can’t make entry.”
Willis said firefighters arrived to find flames shooting out of the front door of the house. Initially, they tried to enter through a rear bedroom, but intense smoke and flames, in addition to the poor stability of the home, prevented them from going inside, Willis said.
“There’s such heavy damage we can’t even find any smoke detectors,” Willis said. “It’s going to be a time consuming process trying to determine a cause of the fire.”
Neighbors noticed the flames at the home, which is in the Brookside Village Mobile Home Park, at about 11 p.m. Thursday and called 911.
“I came out of my house and the trailer was totally engulfed, and probably 20 to 30 foot flames from end to end,” said Jim Butler, who lives several doors down from where the fire occurred. “It was probably 15 minutes before the first fire truck got here. By that time it was already engulfed, pretty much gone.”
Dispatch records indicated the initial dispatch for a fire response was issued at 11:02 p.m. and the first crew arrived at 11:07 p.m.
Fire departments from Pleasant Twp., Harmony Twp., Springfield Twp., Moorefield Twp. and Central Twp. all assisted .
The state fire marshal’s office will continue to lead the investigation.
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