OAKLAND, Maine — A family of four lost everything they had in an early-morning fire Monday, but authorities said they were fortunate to escape with their lives.
Ryan Shuman, his wife and their two children were awoken by smoke detectors early Monday and discovered heavy smoke and flames in their one-story mobile home, Oakland fire Chief Dave Coughlin told the Bangor Daily News on Wednesday.
Coughlin said the fire “originated around a woodstove.”
“This time of year makes it even worse,” Coughlin said, noting the blaze occurred the day after Christmas and that the children lost all their Christmas presents.
“They were very lucky they had working smoke detectors,” said Coughlin.
Ryan Shuman was transported to a Waterville hospital, and later lifted by LifeFlight helicopter to Eastern Maine Medical Center in Bangor, where he was treated for first- and third-degree burns, according to the chief.
Coughlin said the family is receiving assistance from the Red Cross.
My heart goes out to these people. But I am equally stunned by the fact that there is no mention of local curches stepping forward to help these people replace what they lost and so close to the Celebration of Jesus birthday.
Lets hope they had holiday insurance.
Story sucks…but is there a two story mobile home?
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anyone see a pattern yet?
Most fires caused by woodstoves can be broken down into these four causes — all of which are preventable.
— Woodstove installed improperly — located too close to combustibles (including walls), chimney stove pipe not screwed together, improper chimney in use (i.e. using stove pipe in place of the “metalbestos” (Class A) chimney) or not on the appropriate hearth (some stoves require specific insulation requirements for the hearth.)
— Improper fuels used — typically flammable liquids such as gasoline, kerosene, etc. are used to start a stubborn fire, although in other cases folks have used creosote covered telephone poles, landscape timbers or railroad ties.
— Lack of maintenance — chimney is not checked and swept on a regular basis. The resulting chimney fire can throw a spark or hot ember or heat up surrounding woodwork to the point where it catches on fire.
— Improper disposal of ashes — which we saw just recently with the horrific fire in CT. Ashes should be placed in a covered metal pail and placed outside on a non-combustible surface.
Many folks also do not realize that there are specific requirements for woodstoves in mobile homes. In mobile homes folks are supposed to only use mobile home approved stoves, stoves are supposed to be secured and outside air kits are supposed to be in use.