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<< Previous   of   Next >> (click to enlarge)   ADVERTISEMENT   Free smoke alarms Smoke alarms are one of the most important safety devices people can install in their homes, experts say. . Snohomish County Fire District 1 distributes free smoke alarms to people in parts of unincorporated south Snohomish County, Mountlake Terrace and Brier through a federal grant. Help for people in other areas also may be available. For more information, call Kim Schroeder at 425-551-1254. Community meeting and funeral planned A funeral for the Montaño family, killed last week in a mobile home fire, is 7 p.m. Thursday at St. Michael's Catholic Church, 1512 Pine Ave., Snohomish. A community meeting is 7 p.m. Wednesday at the church, when officials plan to answer questions about the fire and share safety tips. A rosary service for the victims also is set to take place at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, just prior to the meeting. Counselors are expected to attend. For more information, call the church at 360-568-0821.   Related Stories • Victims of Snohomish fire sought a fresh start 10/2/08 • Fire too fast to save four in Snohomish 10/1/08   CONTACT THE HERALD Robert Frank, City Editor frank@heraldnet.com   Published: Tuesday, October 7, 2008 Dog wakes man, saving both from fire in travel trailer By Jackson Holtz Herald Writer EVERETT -- A big, black, shaggy dog named Max is credited with waking up his owner Monday morning, saving him as flames engulfed the recreational vehicle where they lived. At first, the man thought Max desperately wanted out. But the man quickly realized the dog had a much more urgent message: The 32-year-old travel trailer south of Everett along Highway 99 was on fire. The dog escaped unharmed. The man, 53, was taken to Stevens Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation, fire officials said. "This guy was really lucky," said Kim Schroeder, who runs fire safety education programs for Snohomish County Fire District 1. "The dog easily could have been overcome by smoke." Often aging, cramped and warmed by propane or electric space heaters, fires can easily be sparked in recreational vehicles, officials said. Still, hundreds and likely thousands of people in Snohomish County are using the travel trailers as their year-round homes, county fire officials said. The man told investigators there were no fire- warning devices in the 27-foot RV destroyed Monday morning. A smoke alarm would have provided a more reliable alert than the dog, Schroeder said. Firefighters spent the morning installing free smoke alarms in several of the other trailers in the RV park where Monday's fire started. "We just want to make sure they have some early-warning system," Schroeder said. County code allows people to spend a maximum 180 days a year in a travel trailer, said Jon Schmidt, an inspector with the Snohomish County Fire Marshal's Office. "As far as we're concerned, they can't be a primary residence," Schmidt said. Still, there's little that can be done to enforce the code for people staying in RV campgrounds. And, with the wobbly economy, more and more people may turn to RVs and substandard mobile homes as the only places they can afford to live, officials say. People with bad credit or criminal histories or who are just down on their luck have few choices when they look for homes. They often turn to RV parks as a last resort before living in shelters or on the street. There are crowded RV parks all along Highway 99. Many residents likely can't afford housing in larger mobile homes. Countywide, there are roughly 18,000 mobile or manufactured homes, mostly in unincorporated areas, county property records show. Nearly one in five was built before 1976, when government standards went into place to improve the fire safety of mobile homes. Similar rules require fire safety features in newer RVs. No law requires retrofitting of older models unless significant improvements are made, officials said. A Snohomish family died on Sept. 30 when the 40-year-old mobile home they purchased just days before for $4,000 went up in flames. Officials have to yet determine what caused the fatal fire. There were no updates on the investigation Monday, Snohomish Police Chief John Turner said. The Snohomish fire is considered suspicious. A specially-trained dog detected signs of a flammable accelerant at the scene, but it is too early to know whether the blaze was deliberately set, officials said. No smoke detector has been found. On Monday, a cigarette likely sparked the early morning blaze at the Starlite RV Park in the 13500 block of Highway 99, said Gary Bontrager, a fire investigator with the county fire marshal's office. He ruled the blaze accidental. The fire destroyed the RV and its contents, valued at $5,500, and caused $2,000 damage to a neighboring travel trailer, Bontrager said. The owner of the destroyed trailer didn't have insurance. The Snohomish County Red Cross helped the man with food, clothing and replacement eyeglasses. The man and his dog planned to stay with friends until he could find a new home, Red Cross spokesman Kris Krischano said. Next to the charred remains of the 1976 Timberline was a carefully tended flower garden and a patch of corn. Similar gardens brightened up some of the other trailers in the RV park. Others had no decorations. Some had blue tarps covering their roofs. "They're not really meant to live in," said Kim Hinds, 49, who has spent the past seven months in a trailer a few doors away from the scene of Monday's fire. "It's better than being on the street or in a shelter." A history of bad credit kept her from renting an apartment, she said. Now, Hinds pays about $450 rent and about $200 for propane each month. She saw the fire from her bed this morning and rushed to alert neighbors, she said. She was caring for Max, the man's dog, until the man was released from the hospital. Firefighters gave her a bag of dog food and a free smoke alarm Monday morning. Another neighbor, Mandy Woodburn, 44, also had firefighters put up a smoke alarm in her trailer. "We wanted to get one, but we're on limited income," Woodburn said. "This was a major wake-up call for us this morning." Firefighters distribute the free smoke alarms when they see the need, Schroeder said. The $10 units are paid for by a federal grant. Typically, about 10 are given out a month, she said. Nine were installed Monday, and firefighters plan to return to the RV park to put up more. Virgil Inlow, 63, isn't sure he's going to wait. He recently paid $1,200 for a travel trailer in the park. The morning fire scared him, he said. He didn't realize how fast the trailers can be consumed by flames. "I'm going to get a fire alarm, a fire extinguisher and insurance," he said. Anytime someone moves into a new trailer, home or apartment, whether they're renting or owners, they should do a thorough inspection and look for working fire prevention devices, Snohomish County Fire Marshal Tom Maloney said. As people look to save money by moving into less-expensive homes or using alternative heating devices, he said, they need to be extra careful. "During the challenges that we're faced with in the current economy, it is still important to practice home-safety practices to prevent fires from occurring," the fire marshal said. READER COMMENTS Be the first to comment. You must be a registered user and verify your e-mail address to post comments to blogs or articles on HeraldNet. To register, click here. To read other terms and conditions, click here. Log out

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