Graham residence destroyed in blaze

TONY BROWN/DAILY FORUM
A volunteer firefighter uses a small sprayer to knock down a hot spot after crews from several departments responded to a mobile home fire on Mill Street at the west end of Graham late Tuesday afternoon. The residence, which was unoccupied when the fire broke out around 4:30 p.m., was destroyed. There were no injuries.

Fire destroyed a mobile home late Tuesday afternoon in the small southwest Nodaway County community of Graham.

Three fire departments dispatched units to the blaze after the call came in around 4:30 p.m. The trailer was unoccupied at the time the fire broke out, and there were no injuries.

Much of the structure appeared gutted, and the furniture and belongings inside were largely destroyed by smoke, flame and water.

Gina Doolin, who owned the trailer, said she and her 11-year-old son were visiting Doolin’s mother a few blocks away when a neighbor called and told her the home was on fire. A third occupant, Doolin’s housemate, was at work.

Doolin said the same neighbor who notified her also alerted firefighters after seeing smoke and flame erupting from the structure.

While there were no injuries, Doolin’s cat, who was shut inside, apparently perished.

“He had no way to get out,” she said.

Doolin, who did not have insurance, said she had been offered shelter by a number of family and friends.

Agencies responding to the fire included the Graham Fire Protection District, Maitland Fire Protection District, Skidmore Fire Department and Maryville Public Safety/Polk Township.

A Nodaway County ambulance unit was also dispatched to the scene along with a technician from Empire Gas.

Fire protection and law enforcement authorities on the scene said the cause of the fire was not immediately apparent.