CALDWELL, Idaho — A fire at a mobile home park in Caldwell displaced three adults on Monday afternoon.
The Caldwell Fire Department (CFD) said the fire was called in on Dec. 16 around 1:00 p.m., in the Indian Creek Estates Mobile Home Park. There are nearly 200 homes in the park, but the department was able to get the fire out and keep it contained to one home.
The owner of the home, Gilbert Munoz, said he left to run some errands and go to the grocery store. He returned home around 1 p.m., saw smoke, and said he knew something was wrong. His friend was also inside the home.
"I found the smoke coming out of the house, and I was like, something's wrong and I tried to open the front door, and I couldn't, the smoke hit me back.," he said. "And then my friend was trying to jump out of the window, and that's when I was like everything's gone, so as soon as he came out, I called 911."
His friend was able to jump out of a bedroom window and was not injured. The third resident was not home at the time of the fire, Munoz added.
Munoz said that it was difficult to watch his home go up in flames.
"It's sad. I mean, especially this time of the year, you know, you don't expect this to happen," he said. "And I see it happens to other families, you know, and now it's my turn."
Caldwell Fire stated the blaze started from "a portable heater plugged into a multi-adapter and an extension cord. They also said the home didn't have any smoke detectors.
Caldwell Fire said their department's Burn Out Fund will assist the displaced residents "as they navigate this difficult time."
The department has gotten the residents two hotel rooms for the night, according to Munoz. Neighbors also stopped by to drop off food and water for the residents.
CFD runs a "smoke detector blitz" program, where it installs some detectors in homes for free. The next round of the program takes place in spring 2025. CFD says the mobile home park will be on the list for that round.