Firefighters battle blaze as snow falls

From Staff Reports

   As snowflakes began to fall Tuesday afternoon, volunteer firefighters were summoned to respond to a trailer fire at 151 Jackson Avenue.
   The trailer was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters from the Hampton Volunteer Fire Department arrived on scene. Officers from the Carter County Sheriff's Department and members of the Carter County Rescue Squad also responded, along with firefighters with tanker trucks from the Stoney Creek and Watauga Volunteer Fire Departments.
   No one was in the trailer, owned by Hubert Reece, at the time the fire began.
   "The man who lived there was out of town at the time," said Amos Halava of the Hampton VFD. "The dog that was in the house was pretty badly burned, so one of the officers (from the CCSD) had to put it down."
   Though the cause of the fire is still under investigation, "the initial report is that it's an electrical fire," said Halava.
   Volunteer firefighters are urging those who live in mobile homes to make sure chimneys are regularly cleaned and in good repair. They also advise residents to exercise caution when building fires in their homes.
   Most mobile home fires occur due to a fire that has not been extinguished properly and poor ventilation.