Several years ago I represented a young lady who with her boyfriend and babies had the unfortunate luck of not having enough wealth to be able to live anywhere other than a mobile home park. The mobile park landlord was your typical slumlord and ran a crappy park.  The door jamb had nails protruding to the exterior and during the time I had the pleasure of trying to improve her lot in life, a trailer two doors down burned till there was nothing left but a shell. I looked around at the trailer my client lived in and thought, "...my God it's just a matter of time." If you believe a house or mobile home fire isn’t likely to happen to you, then read the stories below the news lines below. I’m finding a lot of fire related stories lately and it's reminding of looking out the window that one very cold day. So today let’s review mobile home fire prevention and safety tips. And folks, "let's be careful out there."

Liberty Mutual has a Fire Smart page that has tips on how to protect your home and to protect your family in the even a fire does occur. The resources page has a room-by-room checklist that is interesting.

Download the Liberty Mutual Be Fire Smart Room-by-Room Fire Hazard Checklist

FEMA also has a section on manufacture homes and fire safety. It’s under the U.S. Fire Administration section of FEMA’s web site. They focus on living safely in a mobile home, planning an emergency escape route, smoke and carbon monoxide detection and alarms, fire sprinklers, electrical safety and then space heaters, fireplaces and woodstoves.

Fires in manufactured homes claim the lives of over 300 Americans each year and injure 700 more. Many of these fires are caused by heating and electrical system malfunctions and improper storage of combustibles. You can prevent the loss of life and property resulting from fires in manufactured homes by being able to identify potential hazards and following the safety tips contained in the factsheets on this page.

For mobile homes there is the Mobile Home Fire Safety brochure put out by the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services. I’ve uploaded the document to the Lombardi Law Firm website resources page. This is a good summary and has a short emergency drill plan.

What is an emergency drill plan?

• Plan two escape routes from each room.
• Test all smoke detectors monthly.
• Periodically conduct a fire drill.
• Before escaping through a door during a fire feel the door to make sure it’s no hot.
• Practice crawling on the floor during an escape.
• Set a meeting place outside the home if a fire should occur; so you can do a head count.
• Know the location of the nearest phone to call 911.

What are the main causes of mobile home fires?

• Heating systems.
• Electrical usage.
• Cooking.
• Arson.
• Appliances and AC.
• Smoking.

Where do most fires start?

• Kitchen.
• Living room.
• Bedroom.
• Heating room.
• Underneath the mobile home.

Mobile Home Fire Avoidance

• Use portable heaters safely.
• Protect the walls around the stove.
• Don’t smoke in bed.
• Clear all debris from under the mobile home.

MOBILE HOME FIRE PREVENTION RESOURES:

Tactical Approaches to Mobile Home Fires

Mar 2, 2009 ... Editor's note: The deaths of two West Virginia firefighters last month while tackling a mobile home fire highlights the dangers involved in ...
www.firerescue1.com/fire.../457518-Tactical-Approaches-to-Mobile-Home- Fires/ - Cached - Similar

[PDF] Mobile Home Fire Safety

File Format: PDF/Adobe Acrobat - Quick View
If You ARE A Mobile Home Resident, You Should Know THIS About Fire: ... v Injuries occur more frequently from mobile home fires than others. ...
www.fl-dof.com/publications/fire_pdfs/mobile.pdf - Similar

Mobile Home Fire 9-28-2009
10 min - Sep 28, 2009
Uploaded by DFDTraining
youtube.com

Mobile Home Fire Near O'Hare Airport
3 min - Apr 7, 2007
Uploaded by Arlingtoncards
youtube.com

Mobile Home Fires - interFIRE, A site dedicated to improving fire ...

"Factors Affecting Fire Spread in Mobile Homes." Notes taken from Fire Protection Handbook, 18th Edition and Investigating the Fireground, ...
www.interfire.org/res_file/m_fse_mh.asp - Cached - Similar

USFA Manufactured Homes and Fire Safety

Fires in manufactured homes claim the lives of over 300 Americans each year and injure 700 more. Many of these fires are caused by heating and electrical ...
www.usfa.dhs.gov/citizens/home_fire_prev/manufactured/ - Cached

Police | Mobile home fire displaces family of five in Conway ...

Feb 2, 2011 ... The Coastal South Carolina Chapter of the American Red Cross assisted a family of five in Conway after a mobile home was destroyed by fire, ...
www.thesunnews.com/.../police-mobile-home-fire-displaces.html - Cached

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RELATED NEWS STORIES:

 

Woman, daughter escape Grimes trailer fire

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS

Grimes, Ia. — A mobile home fire in Grimes killed two pets Thursday night, but two people escaped unhurt. It marked the second time the family's residence was destroyed.

Fire destroys mobile home in Grimes, family escapes uninjured

...A mobile home fire in Grimes killed two pets Thursday night, but the residents were able to escape without injury. It marked the second time the family’s house was destroyed.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 4, 2011 (20 hours ago)

2 Injured In Fire At Converted Garage In NW Iowa

Authorities said two people were injured when a space heater ignited some blankets in a converted garage in Le Mars in northwest Iowa.

from KCCI.com - Local News - 6:20 AM (1 hour ago)

Family Loses House To Tornado, Then To Fire

KCCI's Angie Hunt reports.

from KCCI.com - Local News - Feb 4, 2011 (14 hours ago)

Fire destroys mobile home in Grimes, family escapes uninjured

...mobile home fire in Grimes killed two pets Thursday night, but the residents were able to escape without injury. It marked the second time the family’s house was destroyed.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 4, 2011 (20 hours ago)

Family Loses Everything In Fire

...Firefighters battled flames in a house fire in Grimes.

from Des Moines, IA news from WHO-TV- msnbc.com - Feb 4, 2011 (19 hours ago)

Family Loses Second Home To Fire

...Mound caught fire early Thursday, forcing a family inside to evacuate.

from KCCI.com - Local News - Feb 4, 2011 (21 hours ago)

Fire officials steer toward women, minority recruits

...Fire Chief John TeKippe says.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 3, 2011 (2 days ago)

No Injuries Reported in Fire at Happy Joe’s in Coralville

from KCRG - News - Local - Feb 3, 2011 (2 days ago)

Photos: Crews Battle Fire, Extreme Cold

from KCCI.com - Local News - Feb 2, 2011 (3 days ago)

Fire Destroys Restaurant and Memories in Oelwein

from KCRG - News - Local - Feb 2, 2011 (3 days ago)

Man is charged in fatal house fire

...a house fire where a woman died was arrested Tuesday and charged with first-degree arson, police said.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 2, 2011 (3 days ago)

Man Shoveling Driveway Finds House On Fire

...Firefighters said a man out shoveling his driveway returned to find his house filled with smoke and flames.

from KCCI.com - Local News - Feb 1, 2011 (4 days ago)

Kitchen fire damages West Des Moines home

...Des Moines firefighters quickly extinguished a kitchen fire early Tuesday afternoon at 408 31st Street.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 1, 2011 (4 days ago)

1 killed, 2 injured in house fire in Waterloo

...a house fire in Waterloo.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 1, 2011 (4 days ago)

Possible witness sought in Iowa City blaze

...an apartment fire that left one firefighter injured and some residents without their homes.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Feb 1, 2011 (4 days ago)

Police Search for Witness to Iowa City Apartment Fire

from KCRG - News - Local - Jan 31, 2011 (5 days ago)

Police Search for Witness to Iowa City Apartment Fire

from KCRG - News - Local - Jan 31, 2011 (5 days ago)

Investigators Find Cause Of Apartment Fire

...a weekend fire at a West Des Moines apartment complex.

from KCCI.com - Local News - Feb 1, 2011 (4 days ago)

House fires have specific causes that lawyers must discover to recover.

...A house fire in Centerville caused injury to two people who were then treated at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Three others were taken by ambulance to the same hospital. There is video and photographs available if you follow the link. The Shondel Family is mentioned in the article. The cause of the fire was not discussed in the K...

from The Verdict by Lombardi Law Firm - Jan 31, 2011 (5 days ago)

Building damage estimated at $1 million

...apartment building fire in West Des Moines are close to $1 million, fire officials said.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Jan 31, 2011 (5 days ago)

100 Residents Displaced in West Des Moines Fire

from KCRG - News - Local - Jan 30, 2011 (6 days ago)

Damage from apartment fire nears $1 million

...apartment building fire in West Des Moines have reached almost $1 million, counting losses to the structure and to residents' personal belongings, fire officials said today.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Jan 30, 2011 (6 days ago)

Apartment balcony blaze spreads through building

...after a fire ravaged a West Des Moines apartment building Saturday afternoon.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Jan 30, 2011 (6 days ago)

W.D.M. firefighters battling blaze at Sun Prairie Apartments

...Des Moines firefighters are battling a fire at a Sun Prairie Apartments building at this hour.

from DesMoinesRegister.com - NEWS - Jan 29, 2011 5:52 PM

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