A Williamsburg family lost pretty much everything they owned during a late Wednesday afternoon blaze except for their prayer table and their bible that were untouched, according to fire officials.
The fire at 2878 North US25W was first reported shortly after 5 p.m. with Williamsburg Fire Department responding to assist the Goldbug Volunteer Fire Department with the blaze that took place between Whitley Central Intermediate School and the entrance to Whitley County High School.
Williamsburg Fire Chief Larry Todd said that the blaze was first reported as a fire in one room, but by the time firefighters arrived on scene it was fully involved with all the windows to the doublewide trailer with a brick veneer having already blown out.
Todd said that when resident Caleb Rose got to the home where he lived with his wife and three children ages one, three and eight years old that afternoon, he opened his front door and smelled something that smelled like plastic burning.
There was no smoke in the home at that time. He checked various rooms and when he got to a room where one of his children slept, he saw the ceiling glowing before it burst into flames.
When firefighters arrived, there was fire in every room of the home in addition to the crawl space in the attic, Todd said.
Officials are still trying to determine the exact cause of the blaze, but an electrical issue is suspected, Todd said.
About a dozen firefighters from Goldbug and Williamsburg responded to the initial blaze along with a tanker from Emlyn Volunteer Fire Department and used 5,500 gallons of water to extinguish the blaze.
Firefighters were on scene for about two hours.
About 8:21 p.m., Goldbug and Williamsburg firefighters responded to a rekindle at the residence along with a tanker truck from Oak Grove Volunteer Fire Department. About half a dozen firefighters used 4,800 gallons of water on the structure the second time, and were on the scene until about 10:29 p.m.
No one was injured during the blaze.
The Williamsburg Police Department traffic controlled as part of the roadway was blocked by fire trucks.
