At least eight people, including four children, were without a place to stay Monday after a fire tore through a trailer in Mountain View and sent smoke into a nearby home.
The fire was reported at 2:30 a.m. at a home on S. Pardee Street, east of Interstate 15 and west of 36th Street. When the San Diego Fire-Rescue Department arrived, crews realized flames were coming from the trailer in the backyard.
Firefighters believed people were inside the home so locating all residents was their priority, the SDFD said.
The trailer housed a woman and her two dogs but all escaped the flames on their own. A family of three adults and four children under 10, who lived in the home on property, were also safe.
Crews doused the trailer with water and worked to ventilate the home from smoke by cutting through the roof, video of the scene showed. They had the fire out in less than 30 minutes but continued to monitor the property for hot spots through the morning.
The SDFD said the trailer was destroyed; the home had considerable smoke damage and lost access to utilities, SDFD said. The exact amount of damage was not yet known.
The Red Cross was called to help both families displaced by the fire. The organization was able to provide the families with enough resources to cover food and a couple of nights of lodging at a hotel.
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The owner of the trailer told NBC 7 he was living in the trailer with his wife and dogs. They had been homeless but had managed to save enough money to buy the trailer and were paying $350 to park the trailer in their friend's backyard.
He was devastated by the loss of his home and his belongings but said he was grateful his wife and dogs were alive. He said he was at work when the fire sparked.
For now, he said he's not sure where they will go once the Red Cross resources run out, or how he and his wife will recover any belongings.
A cause for the blaze was still under investigation but the SDFD said arson was ruled out.
A barbecue grill was situated near the trailer but investigators did not say if they believed it played a role in the fire.
No other information was available.
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