Fire Destroys St. Clair Mobile Home

The fire that destroyed a mobile home Thursday afternoon does not appear to be suspicious in nature.

St. Clair Fire Protection District Interim Chief Mike Kelley told The Missourian on Friday morning that signs point to the fire at 1489 Piney Lane being accidental. Its cause remains undetermined.

Local fire crews were dispatched to the home a few minutes before 4 p.m. When they arrived, they found heavy smoke and flames coming from the home. Piney Lane is located off of Pond Ford Road north of Highway 30 near the Meramec River.

Owners Steven and Juanita Bull were home when the fire started, but they escaped without injury.

“The wife said she smelled smoke,” Kelley said. “There were people outside burning leaves at the time, so at first she thought it was that. The smell kept getting stronger, so she went to check it out. She found fire coming from the laundry room area, and she called 911.”

When firefighters arrived, about 50 percent of the home was involved, Kelley said. Within about 10 minutes, however, the blaze was under control.

“They knocked it down very quickly,” Kelley said.

The interim chief said Juanita Bull was doing laundry at the time the fire broke out, but he does not know if the fire was electrical, a result of a propane leak or something else.

He said Red Cross was called to assist the couple as the home was uninhabitable.

Kelley said five trucks and 11 firefighters were on the scene as were St. Clair Ambulance personnel.