Fire destroys South Anchorage mobile home; no one hurt

Nobody was injured in the fire, which broke out about 4 p.m. inside a mobile home park in the 9400 block Brayton Drive, north of O'Malley Road.

Firefighters arrived to find flames shooting out all of the mobile home's windows and doors, said Capt. Matt McSorley from Station 9. It was immediately clear that the fire was not survivable, which meant firefighters were not going to risk their own lives searching inside, McSorley said. But they quickly learned from neighbors that all four people inside the home had escaped, he said.

"If this had happened at night, we'd probably be talking about fatalities," McSorely said.

The roughly 20 firefighters who responded were shoveling through debris in the home about 6 p.m. The entire mobile home appeared to be burnt, with holes in the walls exposing wall studs and the charred interior.

Everything inside the mobile home was destroyed, McSorley said. The fire captain estimated total damage at around $100,000.

McSorley said one of the occupants said the fire started when she left a propane deep fryer unattended just outside the dwelling.

Representatives from the Red Cross were assisting the family at the scene and offering to pay for a hotel room for the family.

McSorley said anyone using fryers should keep an eye on the cooking and make sure their smoke detectors are working properly.

Reach Casey Grove at casey.grove@adn. com or 257-4589.