Man dies in mobile home blaze Man dies in mobile home blaze (May 06, 2005)

Probably cause is smoke inhalation, fire officials say

By Allison Gerard

A one-alarm fire claimed the life of a man in a Mountain View mobile home park Monday night.

Residents of Moorpark Mobile Homes, located at 501 Moorpark Way, called 911 around 11 p.m. after hearing their neighbor's smoke detector going off. When firefighters arrived they found the mobile home in space No. 89 engulfed in flames.

While they worked to put out the flames, firefighters searched the home and found one man dead in a bedroom. No other victims were found, and no other homes were damaged during the fire. Investigators are still working to determine the cause of the fire.

The victim's name is being withheld until the Santa Clara County medical examiner confirms his identity and notifies next of kin. Larry Moore, the owner of the park, said the victim lived alone and had been a resident since 1998.

Moore said the victim referred to his mobile home as an "Alaskan home" due to its unusual design. The older-model home was apparently designed for harsher climates.

Most victims in a fire tend to die from smoke inhalation rather than burns, said fire department spokesman Lynn Brown. Although the fire was extinguished promptly, Brown said, "There was a lot of damage on one end of the place." Even so, he said, the bedroom where the victim was found was left mostly intact.

That's why smoke detectors are so important, Brown added, because they allow for early notification. @email:E-mail Allison Gerard at agerard@mv-voice.com --Bay City News contributed to this report

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