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Family of five escapes burning trailer home near Waco
Five members of a family escaped moments before their trailer home burst into flames north of Waco this afternoon.
No one was injured, though two cats died, when the flames quickly spread through the double-wide trailer on State Highway 31, just west of Axtell, said Leroy Volunteer Fire Department Deputy Chief Mark Groce.
When the first firetruck arrived at the residence about 3:30 p.m., the trailer was fully engulfed in flames, Groce said.
Because of the fire’s intensity and the lack of nearby water, Leroy soon called firefighters from Bellmead and Elk to assist. However, firefighters were unable to save the building.
“These trailers really go up fast,” he said.
Croce said the fire’s cause remains under investigation this afternoon.
Nearby, Judy Stranacher watched as firefighters continued to battle the flames that destroyed the home she shared with her family since 1984.
The blackened remains of a grill sat leaning to one side as the trailer’s charred front porch began to give way. Remnants of burned furniture could be seen inside as firefighters used hooks to pull away siding, exposing flames licking the inside of the trailer’s wall, soon doused by a high-pressure hose.
Stranacher said earlier she had been in the home when she smelled something burning. She checked the dryer, where she had a load of clothes going, but it appeared to have stopped working.
The smell was getting stronger she said, “So I told everybody we need to get out.”
“In mobile homes sometimes a fire will get underneath,” she said. “There wasn’t really anything inside, but when I walked out the door, there was a wall of smoke. I just feel lucky we all got out when we did.”
She said she is not sure what her family will do, or where they will stay.
“I guess I have to go shopping for clothes tomorrow so I have something to wear to work.”
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