Breaker box fire in mobile home extinguished by homeowner

Press release from Alachua County Fire Rescue

ALACHUA COUNTY, Fla. – This evening at 6:30 p.m., units from Alachua County Fire Rescue and Gainesville Fire Rescue responded to a reported building fire in the 7600 block of NE 69th Ave, in the Fairbanks area. Upon arrival, crews found light smoke coming from a double wide mobile home. All occupants had evacuated the structure.

Upon entry, firefighters found an electrical fire originating from the home’s breaker box. The fire was extinguished by the homeowner prior to arrival of the fire department utilizing a handheld fire extinguisher. Damage was limited to the breaker box and surrounding wall.

ACFR would like to remind every to have a working smoke detector in every sleeping area and on every floor of your residence, and keep a working fire extinguisher in your home. This incident could have been much worse if a fire extinguisher were not deployed in a timely manner.