(Photo by Russ Mitchell) Mark and Debbie Foster were left homeless after a fire at lot 4 of 317 West 18th Street. David Schipper with the Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office, believes the fire was accidental and electrical in nature.

Daily Reporter Staff

The Iowa Great Lakes Chapter of the American Red Cross has been contacted to help a Spencer couple who lost their home in a trailer fire Friday afternoon.

An officer with the Spencer Police Department spotted smoke and called for assistance at 2:41 p.m. Friday. The officer saw flames as he approached the trailer on lot 4 of the trailer park at 317 West 18th Street.

The trailer is owned by Bill Caskey. He was renting it to Mark and Debbie Foster. The Fosters have two pets who did not escape the fire. The damage, estimated at $20,000, leaves the structure uninhabitable.

"When we were en route, we could see the black smoke from Eighth and Grand," said David Schipper with the Iowa State Fire Marshal's Office. He also assists the Spencer Fire Department. "We pulled up and had fire visible out of the north wall of the trailer and the south wall. It had already rolled over (the ceiling to the other side of the trailer).

A small storage shed on the north side of the trailer also was damaged. The trailer was not insured.

Mark Foster was home at the time of the fire and was able to escape.

"We knocked the fire down fairly quickly," Schipper said. "I'd say within about 8-10 minutes we had it under control. It's just these older trailer houses don't take as long. There's wood paneling and framing and not a lot of Sheetrock and fire-resistant materials in them. Theoretically, in nine minutes they can burn front-to-back."

Firefighters were loading up the fire hoses at about 3:45 p.m.

Schipper thinks the fire started along a north wall. Foster was having some electrical troubles earlier in the morning.

"There's a window air conditioner over there, and he reset a couple of breakers," Schipper said. "Then it appears we had an electrical malfunction in the wiring in the north wall to that air conditioner. Before the breaker tripped the second time, the fire had already started in the wiring. It was already burning in the wall material."

Once the fire reached a source of air around the window, "it was off to the races," Schipper said.

"This time of year, as it is getting warmer, if you are popping breakers or fuses, you really need to have an electrician look at that sort of thing," Schipper said. "Make sure that you have your appliances -- whether its an air conditioner, stove, microwave oven dryer -- whatever on the right circuits so you are not overloading or overheating something. As we can see here today it doesn't take much to have a problem."

Schipper also said the department issued a second alarm.

"That allows some of our people, who work at certain businesses and industries to come," he said. "Employers will let them respond and we are very thankful for that. It take its toll on the firefighters in the heat and humidity out here with all of this heavy gear and protective clothing on."

The Spencer Fire Department was assisted by the Spencer Police Department, Aquila, Spencer Municipal Utilities and Spencer Ambulance.