2 mobile homes burn in Waters Lake

By Carrie A. Mizell

Firefighters were called to an early morning fire in the Waters Lake area last Thursday morning that may or may not have been intentionally set.
The two single wide mobile homes that burned in the fire were unoccupied when the fire started just after 5 a.m. on August 25. Located at 7230 SE 82nd Lane, the first mobile home, which is owned by Carl Arthurs of Olive Hill, Kentucky, was vacant at the time and completely destroyed by fire. The second mobile home, a 1,054 square foot single-wide was only partially burned. The home’s owner Murtle Holton was reportedly out of town when the fire started.
Family members who live in a travel trailer on the property called 911 to report the fire, explained Billy Careccia, Gilchrist County fire chief.
The fire chief said on Tuesday that after working the fire, Gilchrist County Fire Rescue could not determine a cause for the fire and turned it over to the state fire marshal. Despite a report by TV 20 stating that the fire had been deemed arson, Chief Careccia said this week he has received no official word that last week’s fire was intentionally set.
According to Careccia, one Gilchrist County firefighter received steam burns while trying to fight the fire from inside the home.