News Reports

Two pets killed in fire

Wednesday, February 22, 2006

By LANIA COLEMAN
TIMES NEWS SERVICE

CLARE - A faulty drye r vent may have started a fire that killed two pets and destroyed a Surrey Township mobile home on Tuesday.

The Red Cross is assisting the woman who owned the trailer at 38 Scotch, Clare police said.

The owner was not home when the fire started but two house guests told fire investigators they heard a pop at about 12:15 p.m. in the laundry room and upon investigating discovered a raging fire, said Clare Fire Department Chief Kent Randall.

He did not know the name of the single woman who owned the older, 12-by-60-foot mobile home. The property was not insured, he said.

Randall said the official cause of the blaze is unknown and likely will remain that way because the fire leveled the trailer.

''It's a total loss,'' the chief said.

Both house guests escaped unharmed but a dog and bird perished, the chief said.

Firefighters from Clare and Surrey Township were able to extinguish the fire before flames or heat could damage adjacent trailers.

''That's one of the things we were concerned about because they're packed in there pretty tight,'' Randall said.