Mobile home fire kills 3 women from same family; 4 relatives, including kids, escape

COATESVILLE, Pa. – A fire in a mobile home killed three women from the same family on Monday, but four other relatives escaped, authorities said.

The blaze was reported in the double-wide trailer in West Caln Township around lunchtime, when weather conditions were hot, dry and windy and a fire weather warning had been issued for southeastern parts of the state, emergency officials said. The home was engulfed in flames by the time firefighting crews arrived.

Seven people, all related, were in the home when the flames broke out, West Caln police Chief Curt Martinez said. Four of them, including two children, escaped, he said. The names of the victims were being withheld until other relatives could be notified, he said.

The fire isn’t considered suspicious, but an investigation into the cause of it continues, Martinez and Wagontown fire Chief Todd Ziegler said.

The weather was a factor in fighting the flames because conditions were ideal for the spread of fire, Ziegler said, with temperatures in the 80s, low humidity and wind gusts of more than 20 mph. The National Weather Service had issued a red-flag alert for the region due to fire danger. Flames spread from the home to nearby woods but were extinguished.

The remnants of the dwelling still smouldered late Monday as neighbours looked on.

“My heart kind of fell out of my chest when I heard about it,” neighbour Chris O’Hagan told The Philadelphia Inquirer.