Emergency services respond to house fire
♦ The owner of a mobile home on McGee Bend Road told fire officials he was using an oldermodel camp stove inside when it blew up and kicked off a blaze.
A Rome-Floyd County fire investigator was called out to a mobile home Monday evening after it sustained extensive damage from a blaze, which the owner of the residence said started when a camp stove he was using inside blew up.
Battalion Chief Roger Haggard said the owner of the mobile home at 826 McGee Bend Road told him he was using a camp stove — an older model, not a propane stove — inside the residence when it exploded around 5:30 p.m. He was the only person in the mobile home at the time, and he was able to get out the back of the home without suffering any injuries, Haggard said.
Cave Spring firefighters were the first on scene, reporting a large column of smoke was visible before reaching the home, which was fully involved. There was electricity to the home, but it was shut off at the breaker by firefighters. Firefighters had the fire nearly completely knocked down within a half hour, but continued to douse remaining hot spots, as the remains of the home smoldered.
Division Chief Dean Oswalt was called out to the residence to investigate the fire. No cause was determined as of early Monday night.
A neighbor called 911 to report the fire, and initial reports from 911 dispatch indicated the owner of the home may have been responsible for starting it, after the caller reported he gave her a thumbs up.
Haggard said the thumbs up could have been mistaken by the caller; the homeowner could have just been conveying he was OK.