10-year-old dials 911, curbs fire damage
Speedy response helped firefighters combat Sprucewood blaze
Ten-year-old Jennifer Jimenez's quick decision to call 911 was essential in reducing damage and determining the cause of a fire that destroyed her neighbor's home Wednesday afternoon in the Sprucewood Trailer Park, Juneau fire officials said.
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No one was home at lot No. 28 when the fire broke out in the ductwork of the oil furnace, eventually burning through the floor under the bathroom and entering the 1960s mobile home.
The fire moved into some combustible material stored under the trailer home and then through the subfloor, Deputy Fire Marshal Dan Jager said.
That's about when Jimenez noticed the fire from her window next door, told her father and called 911.
Her quick action got the fire department on the scene quickly enough to knock the fire down before it became an inferno, Jager said.
"Usually mobile homes burn hot and burn quick," he said.
Two engines and 15 firefighters extinguished the growing blaze within five minutes. No injuries were reported.
Jager said two adults lived in the mobile home and Red Cross showed up to help with temporary housing.
Before the crews arrived, Jimenez's father and another neighbor used three fire extinguishers without an effect.
"When that didn't work, they switched to a snow shovel," Jager said. "They tried to throw snow on the fire."
People should have their furnaces checked and chimneys cleaned by professionals, and they should make sure that working smoke detectors are in the home, Jager said.
Sifting through the debris hours after the fire was out, Jager said he couldn't find a single smoke detector in the home.
• Contact Greg Skinner at 523-2258 or greg.skinner@juneauempire.com.