Mobile home a loss after torch thawing pipes sparks fire

Mobile home a loss after torch thawing pipes sparks fire

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By Amy Lange
Fox 2 News

STERLING HEIGHTS, Mich. (WJBK) --Sterling Heights firefighters braved the bitter cold to try to save a man's home.  His pipes frozen, he went underneath his mobile home around 10:30 Tuesday morning to try and thaw them out.

"We arrived to find about 50 percent of the trailer involved with fire, and in speaking with the occupants, they had been heating frozen pipes with a propane torch to help get their water working again in the home," says Assistant Chief Dennis Adler.

Instead the home is now a total loss, the only water coming from hydrants and hoses.

Fortunately there were no injuries.  The people that lived in the home made it out, but their pet cat is still missing.  The homeowners didn't have insurance, but family, friends and the Red Cross will be helping them out.

Meantime Adler says don't let this happen to you.

"If you have an issue with frozen pipes, using a propane torch, especially one that's unattended, is not the proper method for thawing out your pipes.  If you're not sure how to do it, contact the appropriate contractor, somebody who can come out and do this in an appropriate method."

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