Firefighters suspect discarded smoking materials in a trash can may have caused an early morning fire at a home in the Driftside Trailer Park, 13500 N. U.S. 31 in northern Bartholomew County.
German Township firefighters, along with Clifford and Edinburgh fire departments, were sent to the home after a passerby noticed a fire on the front porch and called 911 while trying to alert anyone inside the structure.
She woke up two males and one female, along with a pet dog that were inside the home, said German Township Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief Matt Lynch.
A Bartholomew County dispatcher spoke with the residents who confirmed everyone was out of the home, Lynch said. The fire was out by 5:20 a.m.
Investigators believe the fire started on the front deck, where it consumed a 5 gallon bucket of used motor oil, and damaged a lawn mower underneath the deck and two bikes and a trash can on the deck, Lynch said. The skirt around the mobile home had melted, but Lynch said it kept the fire from spreading inside the home.
No injuries were reported.
For more on this story, see Friday’s Republic.
