Fire destroys 2 mobile homes at Madras trailer park

(Update: More info from fire officials, photos; four vehicles destroyed; five pets perish; cause under investigation)

Two adjacent mobile homes and four vehicles were destroyed Sunday afternoon by a fierce fire at Tops Trailer Park in Madras that put up thick, black smoke visible over a wide area.

Jefferson County Fire District No. 1 crews were dispatched shortly after 1 p.m. to the fire in a mobile home at Tops Trailer Park at 23 Northwest Depot Road, Capt. Kasey Skaar said. The fire extended into an adjacent home, both of which were occupied, destroying both and damaging a third while also destroying four parked vehicles.

The first engine to arrive protected nearby homes in an aggressive attack on the fire, Skaar said. The fire also spotted into nearby grass, which was quickly extinguished, he added.

The cause of the fire was under investigation. It was the sixth serious fire in six years at the trailer park.

The fire closed Depot Road and also sent smoke blowing across nearby Highway 26 for a time.

Jefferson County Sheriff Jim Adkins later said in a Facebook post that the only reported injury was a woman who received some scratches when she climbed over a fence to escape the flames. In addition, several pets — two parrots, five fish and a turtle — perished in the blaze.

In addition, two firefighters who stepped on a downed, live electrical line at the scene were uninjured, Adkins said, but were taken to St. Charles Madras to be checked out as a precaution.

American Red Cross disaster response teams assisted both families, one of which received emergency lodging. Jefferson County EMS also was on the scene.