Trailer fire puts pair from Cape outside of residence

Residents of the Starvue Trailer Court clustered together Wednesday night in small groups watching Cape Girardeau firefighters attempt to extinguish a fast-burning home and protect surrounding ones.

Charles Rhymer, 59, and his girlfriend, Beverly Prater, 49, had lived in the No. 12 unit at 1927 N. Kingshighway for the last three months. Neither was inside the trailer when the fire started, shortly before 8 p.m. Prater had gone out on the porch, and Rhymer was visiting a neighbor elsewhere in the court.

"She gets cold sometimes at night and had gotten up and turned on -- or turned off, I don't know -- the heater," Rhymer said. "She went outside to smoke a cigarette. She doesn't like to have smoke in the house."

Shortly after she started smoking, Prater heard a fire alarm sounding inside the trailer. She opened the door to investigate and smoke rolled out of the opening.

"She was hit in the face by the heat," Rhymer said.

Rhymer could see the smoke and glow of the fire high above the trees from his neighbor's house down the road. In a matter of minutes, the trailer had become engulfed in flames. Rhymer found his girlfriend still sitting in a daze on the steps.

"I ran over and pulled her off the porch," he said. "And then I came back and moved the car, so it wouldn't catch on fire because it was parked so close to the trailer."

The couple does not have renter's insurance to cover the loss of their belongings, Rhymer told a firefighter. He did not know where they'd be staying the night, but said a few friends had offered to help.

After the fire was out, Prater walked about the scene between the trucks and water hoses in socks, a nightgown and a flannel jacket. She appeared to be somewhat in shock. Rhymer glanced over at her in concern, his own eyes showing a glossy, worried look.

"She's pretty upset," he said. "She lost a lot of pictures of her grandkids. I'm just glad it didn't catch any one else's trailer on fire too."

Late Wednesday, firefighters were still tearing down the ceiling and extinguishing the smoldering piles of debris. The cause of the blaze is still under investigation, a fire official said.

mwells@semissourian.com

335-6611, extension 160