Thanksgiving-eve fire burns trailer home
A Nov. 27 fire destroyed the trailer home of Aaron and Brittany Davis on County Road 351 in Caulfield. There was no one home at the time of the fire and therefore no injuries.
When firefighters arrive to a fully-engulfed house fire, they often focus on containing the fire and keeping the blaze away from propane tanks like this one at the Davis property.
A trailer home in Caulfield went up in flames during the early-morning hours of Nov. 27, the day before Thanksgiving. The residents, Aaron and Brittany Davis, were not home at the time of the fire, but the structure was a complete loss.
According to the dispatch report from the Ozark County Sheriff’s Department, a neighbor called the fire in at 3:50 a.m., saying they saw that the trailer was on fire, and it was dangerously close to their house. The neighbor told the dispatcher that they knew Aaron Davis and his wife lived in the trailer, and they were unsure if they or their dogs were inside.
The Tecumseh Fire Department was dispatched, as well as mutual aid from Bakersfield and Caulfield Fire Departments. Howell-Oregon Electric Cooperative was also notified of the fire.
The dispatcher attempted to contact the Davises to ensure they were safe, but there was no answer on Aaron’s phone, the report says. A Tecumseh firefighter later radioed the dispatch office and said they received information that Aaron was at a residence near “Hippie Heaven” off County Road 349, and a 15-year-old boy who lived there was staying the night somewhere else. The dispatcher used the information and made contact with Aaron, who said that there was no one home at the trailer that night. He said he had a dog, but it was an outside dog.
When firefighters arrived on scene, the trailer was mostly engulfed in flames, and the crew worked together to contain the fire to the structure and keep it from spreading to the nearby residence or anywhere else. JB Duke with the Tecumseh Fire Department said when a structure is fully engulfed, the firefighters must be concerned with finding propane tanks or bottles that may be inside or outside the home to keep them away from the fire. He said that recently a small propane bottle inside a home blew up during a fire, which “was a little like a bomb going off. The ground and the whole place shook.”
The firefighters called the Missouri Fire Marshal’s office to investigate the cause of the fire. The cause is currently unknown, he says.