Faulty extension cord blamed for Dora-area mobile home fire


DVFD chief Monte Shipley, left, and two Caney Mountain VFD firefighters prepare to enter the mobile home where a fire started in a back bedroom. Photos courtesy Dora VFD.

A faulty extension cord in the back bedroom is thought to be the cause of the mobile home fire Saturday, fire officials say. Photos courtesy of Dora VFD.

It was just before midnight Saturday night when longtime Caney Mountain firefighter Josh Spence walked outside his home off CC Highway and saw that his neighbor Laura Smith’s trailer house was on fire. Josh yelled to his wife Tiffany, also a Caney Mountain firefighter, to call 911. 

“Then he said, ‘Grab my gear!’” Dora VFD chief Monte Shipley told the Times Monday. 

Tiffany called to report the fire to an Ozark County Sheriff’s Department dispatcher, who sent out a call to Dora, Caney Mountain, Tecumseh and Caulfield VFDs. The Spences headed to the neighbor’s house and soon were joined by 17 other volunteer firefighters from four departments who battled the blaze. 

The entire rear section of the trailer, along with an addition that had been built onto the mobile home, was fully engulfed when the firefighters arrived on scene. Dora’s fire engine initially knocked the fire down with its 500 gallons of water, while firefighters used hose lines to tackle the blaze from the windows and eventually the interior of the burning structure. 

A north wind fueled the flames. Firefighters were on scene fighting the fire until 2:42 a.m. However, the fire was extensive, and the home was a total loss. 

Thankfully, no one was home at the time of the fire. The mobile home renter, Laura Smith, was out having dinner with friends. 

Shipley says firefighters believe the fire started from an extension cord in a rear bedroom. 

Ozark County Times

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