Structure Fire - 05/03/13 - Lee Acres, NM

On May 5th, 2013 at 17:39 hours San Juan County Fire Department’s (SJCFD) District #6 was dispatched to 31 County Road 5190 for a report of a house on fire. The initial assignment also included an Automatic Aid response from SJCFD District #8 and the Bloomfield Fire Department. County fire dispatchers advised responding units that the residents were still inside house, and they had advised them to evacuate.

At 17:39 hours dispatch reported that they had lost the phone connection with the residents. Reports were also coming in that the back porch of the double-wide manufactured home was on fire and that a propane tank had exploded. Another caller reported that all the occupants of the home were out of the building and safe.

As SJCFD apparatus started to arrive and size-up fire conditions, a second alarm was struck. The flames had extended into the interior of the building and the additional resources were going to be needed to control the fire. Shortly after the initial attack lines were deployed, the bulk of the fire on the “C“ side of the home’s exterior was knocked down. The fire had also extended to the attic area and compromised a portion of the roof above the back porch area.

Interior crews were pulled from the building for a short time, while the fire on roof and an involved air conditioner were extinguished from exterior. As firefighters returned inside, they opened up ceilings and a penetrating nozzle was utilized to knock the attic fire down. The Red Cross was requested to respond to assist the displaced residents. The cause of the fire is under investigation by SJCFD Fire Marshal’s Office.