Man escapes motor home fire

WASILLA — No one was injured in a Friday afternoon fire in Williwaw subdivision that destroyed a Winnebago.

The call to respond to fire came in shortly after noon and crews were on scene in short order.

Central Mat-Su Fire Department Assistant Chief Michael Keenan said one man had been asleep in the motor home at the time, but was out when firefighters arrived. The flames also charred a nearby trailer home.

“The people that lived in the trailer got out OK,” he said.

Keenan said the fire started after the man in the motor home used a fan to circulate heat. The fan fell onto a stove burner in the motor home and caught fire.

As he spoke, crews pulled hosed down and removed a charred mattress and other debris from the Winnebago, which was by then half a Winnebago, absent its roof. Flames briefly flared up in the rear of the Winnebago, but were quickly doused.

“We had it under control in like five minutes,” Keenan said of the fire.

The fire included a number of hazards, not the least of which was a handful of propane tanks. Keenan said the man who escaped the blaze assured him they were empty. Still, the assistant chief could be heard on emergency band radio shouting for the man to get out of the way and for his crews to douse them.

“Empty ones are more dangerous than full ones for us,” he said.

The Winnebago was completely destroyed in the fire. Damage to the nearby trailer home was minimal.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.