MIFFLINTOWN - A residential blaze displaced three area residents and a dog from their mobile home early Friday evening, and fire officials described the structure as a complete loss.
Mifflintown Hose Co. Fire Chief Tom Leiter said the fire broke out around 5 p.m. at the residence, located at 72 Penn View Drive in Mifflintown.
The residents of the trailer were having some sort of "heating and electrical" issues with the furnace, which prompted them to call a serviceperson Friday afternoon, Leiter said.
"The serviceperson said he would come back on Monday and fix it," he said.
Some time later in the day, witnesses began to see fire coming out of the oil furnace in the trailer, Leiter said. It was at this point that the three residents evacuated the home and tried to find a fire extinguisher to douse the flames - but to no avail, he said.
Leiter said the home was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived on the scene, and their primary objective was to "control" the flames so they would not spread to adjacent structures.
"It was in a trailer park ... the trailers are close together," he explained.
The initial home that caught fire was a complete loss, Leiter said. Two neighboring mobile homes sustained some damage, but are still in habitable condition, he added.
A representative from the American Red Cross confirmed Friday evening that two adults and one child from the destroyed home are receiving assistance in the form of food, clothing and shelter. The representative added that one person from each of the neighboring mobile homes also are receiving assistance in the form of food, clothing and shelter.
Units that assisted Mifflintown Fire Co. were Friendship Fire Co., Fayette Township Fire Co., Beale Township Fire Co., Thompsontown Fire Co. and Central Juniata EMS.
