The occupant of a mobile home that caught fire Feb. 19 in Masury suffered second-degree burns to his head, Brookfield firefighters said.
The identity of the man, who was taken to a hospital by Vienna fire department medical personnel, was not known, firefighters said. He was injured while getting out of the mobile home.
“He only had the one, the side exit, coming out. I think, once he stood up into the plume of smoke, he ended up getting some singed hair,” said Brookfield Fire Capt. James Williamson.
Firefighters were dispatched at 12:14 p.m. The mobile home is on property of Westhill Auto, 767 Boyd St.
The cause of the fire is undetermined, but firefighters said the man had been cooking.
After placing food in oil on the stove, he “walked back into the back of his trailer. Then, an unknown amount of time later, he noticed smoke in his trailer,” Williamson said. “He noticed that the kitchen was on fire. As of right now, we’re leaving it as undetermined, but can’t rule out unattended cooking.”
The fire’s quick spread was aided by the weather, said Fire Chief David Masirovits.
“With today’s low temperatures and high winds, that added to the fire,” he said. “That fire was a wind-driven fire. It blew through that trailer rather quickly.”
The mobile home is a total loss. While the property is insured, it is not expected that an insurance claim will be filed, Masirovits said.
Brookfield had extra manpower on station at the time of the call, because the department was hosting a fire training through the Howland Fire and EMS Training Center with members of Burghill-Vernon Fire Department and students of Trumbull Career and Technical Center.
Patagonia, Hermitage and Sharon fire departments also responded.
The students could not participate in fighting the fire, but they were brought to the scene after the blaze was extinguished to help re-rack hose on the fire trucks, Masirovits said.
“It’s good experience for them,” he said. “I was able to actually take them up beside the fire scene and discuss and show them some of the dynamics of the fire, especially the difference between a regular fire and a wind-driven fire.”
