An Aberdeen mobile home was destroyed by fire on Friday afternoon after an electrical failure in a circuit breaker sparked a fire in a bedroom.
At 4:30 p.m. on Friday, emergency personnel were dispatched to the 30-block of Lewis Drive in Aberdeen for the report of a dwelling fire in a 20-foot by 60-foot manufactured home.
The homeowner and his girlfriend were in their rear bedroom when they heard a circuit breaker trip. Upon resetting it, he smelled smoke and discovered heavy smoke coming from the front bedroom. The occupants were able to escape; however, they believed his nephew was still inside, and broke the bedroom window in an attempt locate them. It was later determined his nephew and his son had left earlier and were safe.
Fifteen firefighters from the Aberdeen Fire Department responded to the single-alarm blaze and had it under control within 15 minutes.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal estimated the fire caused $50,000 in damage to the structure and another $15,000 in damage to its contents. The preliminary cause of the fire was blamed on electrical failure. There were no injuries reported. With this, residents are instructed to inspect their circuit breakers and buy a new one if needed.
The trailer is considered a complete loss. The occupants are being assisted by Harford County Disaster Assistance.
Reading the article tells me that the circuit breaker wasn’t the problem, because it did it’s job and tripped! The problem was obviously in the front bedroom area (where they discovered where the smoke was coming from!). Wake up!
Federal Pacific breakers are known to not trip when they should.