Space Heater May Be Responsible For Deadly Fire At Taylor Trailer Park
TAYLOR (WWJ) - Fire investigators say a space heater may be to blame for a fire that killed one person at a mobile home park in Taylor.
The fire broke out around 3:30 a.m. Thursday at a home in the Robbinwood Trailer Park at Beech Daly and Ecorse Roads, near I-94.
Taylor Fire Chief Robert Tompos said the fire started in one home, but spread to others.
"Upon arrival there [firefighters] found a fully engulfed structure and they also found two adjacent structures that had also caught on fire. They did their best to put out the fire on the main structure, and also attack the structures on each side," he said.
The fire was contained, but not before three homes were damaged. Officials say a 73-year-old woman from Alabama, who was in town visiting family for the holidays, was killed in the fire. Her name and hometown weren't immediately released. One other person was injured.
Tompos said the cause of the fire may have been an item several people use to keep warm as the winter blows in.
"Our initial information, we're pretty sure that it's going to be from a space heater," he said.
Tompos says budget cuts last year forced them to close two of the city's three fire stations, which can make their job tough.
"We have one station. We have the main station and that's the one that we're covering everything from. You know, we're trying to work to get those other stations reopened but, you know, there's budget issues and problems with money," he said.
If those problems don't get solved soon, Tompos said the fire department may be forced to take things into their own hands.
"It may come down to a fact where we're going out and talking to some of those businesses at the far end of the city and seeing if they can help us get those stations up and running so we can get back to protecting them to the way we want to protect them," he said.
