Fire guts trailer
By John Joyce
Published in News on July 29, 2015 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Andrew Cabrera, center, is helped out of his turnout gear after extinguishing a fire inside a mobile home in Woodland Park off New Hope Road Tuesday afternoon.
Fire claimed the home of a mother and two young children in a mobile home park off West New Hope Road Tuesday.
The Wayne County chapter of the American Red Cross has stepped in to provide assistance.
Goldsboro Assistant Fire Chief Frank Sasser said the cause of the fire remains undetermined. A woman was allegedly napping in a front room while two children were playing in a back bedroom, he said.
"That's where it started," Sasser said.
He said the oldest of the two children, a 7-year-old, woke up the mother and told her the bedroom was on fire.
"There was heavy smoke. It was burning pretty good by then," Sasser said.
The call came in as a structure fire at 3:05 p.m.
Goldsboro fire Engines 2, 3, 4, 5 and Ladder 1 responded along with Wayne County EMS and Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley. Sasser had command at the scene.
While the frame of the trailer remained mostly intact, the same could not be said for the interior. The bedroom was completely consumed and the rest of the mobile home suffered heavy smoke and water damage.
Sasser said the value of the property was not yet determined due to it being an older model, but overall it was a total loss. He said the trailer park manager, Catherine Cohen, told him the trailer was not insured.
"The Red Cross came out and said they would put her up for three days in hotel. They gave her money for food and they bought her some new clothes to wear. She'd lost all her clothes," Sasser said.
American Red Cross disaster program specialist Kathy Jones confirmed her agency did provide food, clothing and lodging for the family.
"We provided food. There were three people in the home so we provided clothing and shoes for three people and we gave them three nights in a hotel," Mrs. Jones said.
Anyone interested in contributing to the family displaced by the fire is asked to direct inquiries to Mrs. Jones at the Red Cross by calling 919-735-7201.