Firefighters battle mobile home blaze in Fruitland area

FRUITLAND, Mo. -- A fire completely destroyed a double-wide mobile home on Monday in Fruitland. No one was home when the fire started, said fire chief Dean Riley, and the residents, a family with several children, were either in school or around town.

Firefighters responded around 11 a.m. to a call on South Cottonwood in Mulberry Acres Trailer Court. When units arrived, heavy smoke was coming from the attic, Riley said.

Approximately 25 Fruitland and East County firefighters successfully kept the fire from spreading down wind to a nearby mobile home. Firefighter units remained on the scene until at around 3:30 p.m.

The cause is undetermined, he said, though it originated around the stove in the kitchen.