Over the past two decades, I have written on tactics for house fires in the 1-, 1H-, 2- and 2H-story frame dwelling because I believe that we, as a national fire service, should be able to do our best fighting fires that affect the lives and personal property of the majority of our citizens. But not too long ago, our county dispatcher sent a fire department out on what he gave as a “house trailer fire.” I went, of course, and it dawned on me that there's one heap of folks dwelling in these shelters.

I was wondering about applicable terms to describe these structures and found that, right off the reel, “house trailer” is not a term well thought of in the industry. In any case, it brought me back to the 1930s and early 1940s, when trailers were drawn behind automobiles. People took them on vacations, and those trailers sat in the yard the rest of the year. I knew of no one who dwelt in one full time.

However, the years following World War II brought on an acute housing shortage that seemed to spawn the live-in edifice we know today, as house trailer gave way to mobile home. According to the New York Manufactured Home Association, Albany, N.Y., a mobile home is “a factory-built home designed to be used as a year-round dwelling and built prior to the establishment of the HUD code.”

That code is as follows: “While many site-built homes are constructed according to a specific building code to ensure proper design and safety, all manufactured homes are constructed in accordance with the Federal Manufactured Home Construction and Safety Standards, in effect since June 15, 1976.

“This building code, administered by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, regulates manufactured home design and construction, strength and durability, fire resistance, and energy efficiency. In the early 1990s this building code was revised to enhance energy efficiency and ventilation standards and to improve the wind resistance of manufactured homes in areas prone to hurricane-force winds.

“Every manufactured home has a red-and-silver label certifying that it was built and inspected in compliance with HUD code. No manufactured home may be shipped from the factory unless it complies with the HUD code and received the certification label from an independent, third-party inspection agency.”

So where does that leave us? When the bell rings and you can see a column of smoke down the road, you aren't going to look for any red-and-silver label. While all these rules tell us that steps have been taken to stop today's mobile homes from being built like the older ones that burned like a torch, there is something that catches the firefighting eye — enhanced energy efficiency. I assume that they tightened up those traveling, off-site built homes so that they hold their heat better in periods of hostile fire. If you are trying to get through the front door with a charged line when the siding is dripping off the outside walls, that's all you need to know.

The who and where of mobile homes

Although house trailers, mobile homes and manufactured homes differ to the real-estate and building industries, they have one thing in common: They burn, some less, some more, but burn they will. The next commonality about this collection is that they have to get from the point of manufacture to the site where they will be installed. That means they must be mobile to some degree, so let's call them all mobile homes.

Now, where are these mobile homes located? Everywhere it would seem, but not quite. In the far past they started popping up in places they weren't wanted. Some communities outlawed them through zoning. I happen to live in one of these towns, and such homes got stomped on quickly. However, two mobile home parks were grandfathered in. One phased out in time, and the second is down to four units. In the past we lost a couple at that location, and being the age they were they made a lot of work for us and created a big exposure problem. Fortunately the closest fire station is only two blocks away.

Beyond these restrictions you can bet that the mobile home is in every state in the country, with maybe the exception of Hawaii. And a new crop appears every year. In New York state alone there were 3,700 new deliveries in 2001. Now multiply that by all the states and you come up with vast numbers for just the newly constructed.

It's safe to say that mobile homes are near and far, in solitude and masses. Most groups are still called trailer parks, but there are those that shy away from that image and use “Springborn Estates” or some such. Regardless of the handle, they contain house trailers, mobile homes and factory-built homes.

A common situation is for these units to be clustered in a community. While for years these communities were minute, some have grown over time to where they contain a sizable population ranging from infants to senior citizens. As many of these communities are some miles from town, you can bet that there is at least one car for every housing unit. Space in these encampments is limited to get as much use out of the land as possible. Roads or streets are narrow, and many don't have a strong base. They can't handle much of a gathering of fire apparatus.

Who lives in mobile homes? Just about every creed and color and nationality, although I have yet to hear of a CEO, college professor or a bishop living in one. However, I have seen mobile homes sitting next to country churches as a residence for the pastor and his family, and I have a sister who has lived in one for years. Recently, there seems to be a movement to use them for retired people because they're smaller than standard houses and easier to maintain.

Mainly, you're going to find mobile-home dwellers are the same as people who live in other houses. It's just another lifestyle. But you are going to have fires in both types: Know the combustibility of both and you will do well.

Course of an incident

In a recent local incident, a man was showering in his mobile home when he discovered a fire in his kitchen. He did what he could about it and then decided to go for help. Having no telephone, he had to drive to a neighbors to raise the alarm. It's a good thing the neighbor was home. No word was given in regard to whether he jumped in his pickup truck or van, towel flapping. Do you think this was an isolated case? By location only? There must be tens of thousands of locations such as this where neighbors are down the road a piece.

As we look at a mobile-home fire from its origin until its extinguishment, there are several considerations.

Time of burn until discovery

While this is important in every fire, it is more so with the mobile home. Is it in a cluster or isolated out yonder? If clustered, fellow tenants in the group may spot a fire early. On a side road it's often someone driving by.

Fuel to burn

Based on what I have seen, the oldest mobile homes seem to burn the fastest. Time and legislation have slowed this fast fire spread somewhat. However, regardless of improvements we must understand that the inhabitants of these homes want all the comforts and items as those who dwell in wood-frame homes. The difference is that all these things must be compressed into a smaller, tighter compartment. Modern household items burn hotter than old, so if a door is left open or a window drops out, it's big-time burn.

Time between discovery and alarm

How familiar we in the fire service are of hearing, “We tried to put it out first and couldn't, so we called you.” When you pull up to see a few empty fire extinguishers on their sides and a H-inch garden hose spewing a useless stream on the ground, you know there's lost time that counts against us. Of course, there can be the frantic, unclear phone call where the dispatcher has to source out information in order to send the appropriate agency.

Time to cover the distance of response

The variables start with your department. Are your stations fully or partially staffed, or are they manned only on call? The horn blows, the siren wails, the monitors moan, the pagers come on and the gathering of hands begins.

Each of these categories determines how quickly you can get the first unit on the road. How far do you have to go to get to your work? A mile or so is the best you can ask for, but five miles is more likely. If you can go 60mph you can count on five minutes to get on scene. How likely is this? Not much, because you are not running in a NASCAR race. Your rig is not designed for the Grand Prix, so hold it down to reason. In such cases you must count on being more than five minutes on the road. In that time period the fire has moved in every direction it can, so be ready to put it on.

To show the variations in time getting to a mobile home fire, let me offer this. I once spoke with a chief officer whose organization had built a structure that was then leased to the U.S. Postal Service. This erection was only about 500 feet from the fire station. At the completion of our business we shook hands and parted. I had driven 10 miles when I heard mutual aid companies being called to a mobile-home fire in the community I had just left. Location: Next to the post office. It burned to the ground, according to the newspaper. The unfortunate owner was the chief officer whom I had met 15 minutes prior.

Life threat

Nobody home is the best you can expect in a mobile-home fire, but how do you know? Here we must separate the loners from those in a crowd. An isolated mobile home is one that usually cuts your chances of an exposure problem, but isolated means fewer neighbors to give you the facts so you don't have to figure them out or guess. In a mobile-home park, neighbors are likely to have determined if anyone is home prior to your arrival.

If you have to guess, look for such things as an automobile close at hand, bicycles, children's toys or muddy shoes near a door. Any of these may give you a clue and the proper action to take. In any case, the consideration of life should never be too far from your mind. If someone stands before you and identifies himself as an occupant, he should know the score. You won't have to look far for this person's face will show you.

If no one is certain of a victim inside, get a door open — preferably the main one. Look on the floor or feel for shoes. If the area is rough outside, the shoes come off quickly to eliminate mud throughout. Again, toys on the floor are another item that identifies occupants possibly trapped.

Exposures

These can be many and close in the mobile-home — community fire. Other housing units, vehicles, out buildings and even a garage are possible. Larger in the danger line is the type of fuel used in heating and cooking. The older type used to have a 200-gallon oil tank in a saddle against the rear wall. Not unknown are the two propane tanks in a bracket at the end of the structure. For long-term occupancy these probably won't be there, as many mobile-home parks now use natural gas. If this is the case you stand well.

If there's a fuel tank exposed and your first line has a higher priority, take a pressurized water extinguisher to wet the tank, and then when still wet, coat it with dry-powder extinguisher. That gives you some insulation until more resources are at hand. Any other Class A exposures are handled in the traditional manner as you accumulate supplies in greater volume.

You can come across a fire in a mobile home that is so advanced that it is an exposure problem most of all. While you are tending to that, remember that all these points of danger are a result of the main fire, and if you can quickly control this, the exposure problems are done. As this is a judgment matter based on what arsenal you have at first, second-arriving and close-at-hand if you call for it, you proceed with your operation.

Preplan options

The best results I have seen in mobile-home fires are from a four-corner fire department in Sheridan, N.Y. They long ago learned that if you have one involved, the first line is a 2H inch. They go for the big prize and secondary matters come next. They have few hydrants in their district. They back up two pumpers with two tankers. These cats can really wail on heavy combustion.

If there is a variance in mobile homes it is in the skirting. While some sit flush on concrete slabs, most are raised 18 to 24 inches, with many types of materials used to shield this space. I have seen only one fire involving this area, but we prepared to rip into it.

Fire in the mobile home can be a study by itself. There are as many differences in the process as there are similarities. A fire department going into one of serious nature is about to be sorely tried if they have not studied the characteristics of the wolf among the flock of sheep. That's about what it amounts to when mobile homes are in a group.

Take your rank and file to a mobile-home dealer's lot and ask for a walk-through of some display units. Look through your district and find the loners and the nearest source of water. Tour the installations of those clustered, noting spacing and exposures. Visualize the various scenarios you can possibly have in these fires, and plan for them. If you don't and the time comes for the real thing, you just might put your boot into something bad.

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Prior to his retirement, Donald L. Loeb served the Dunkirk (N.Y.) Fire Department as a volunteer firefighter, assistant chief and chief. His experience spans six decades of military and civilian firefighting, teaching, and writing.