MONARCH — A fire that destroyed a mobile home in the Monarch community Sunday afternoon is being investigated as “suspicious” by the Union County Sheriff’s Office.

J.D. McCarley, assistant fire chief for the Monarch Fire Department, said Tuesday that his department was dispatched at 4:24 p.m. to 100 Bobo St. in reference to a structure fire. When the first firefighters arrived on the scene, McCarley said they found the mobile home was “40 percent involved” by the fire. The Kelly-Kelton Fire Department and the Union Public Safety Department were also dispatched to the scene to assist Monarch in battling the blaze. Union County Fire Rescue and Union County EMS were also dispatched to the scene as were deputies with the Union County Sheriff’s Office who McCarley said assisted with traffic control.

Despite their efforts, however, McCarley said firefighters were unable to save the mobile home and its contents. Monarch Fire Chief Dr. John Flood estimated the loss of the mobile home at $5,000 but could not offer an estimate on the value of its contents.

There were no injures and McCarley said firefighters cleared the scene at 5:24 p.m.

McCarley said the mobile home was being used for storage but firefighters on the scene received conflicting reports about whether or not someone had been living there also. He said the mobile home was without power and that the fire had started on the end opposite from where the kitchen was. McCarley said these reasons plus the absence of any electrical storm that afternoon raised suspicions about the origin of the blaze.

Flood said Tuesday that because of this the matter has been turned over to the sheriff’s office for investigation.

“Anything we have that appears to be suspicious we contact the sheriff’s office and turn it over to them,” Flood said.

Sheriff David Taylor said Tuesday afternoon that an incident report about the fire has already been completed. He said the blaze is being investigated as suspicious in origin and that an investigator will be assigned to the case today.

Jonesville

A little more than eight hours earlier, the Jonesville Fire Department was dispatched to a mobile home fire but were also unable to save the building.

Chief Jimmy Wilkins said Tuesday his department was called to 228 Shady St., Jonesville, just before 8 a.m. Wilkins said the first firefighters to arrive on the scene found flames coming out the windows on the bedroom end of the trailer. He said firefighters were able to enter the mobile home through a door in the back and into a hallway that gave them direct access to the bedroom. Wilkins said firefighters were able to contain the fire to the bedroom and extinguish it.

Even though they were able to contain the fire, Wilkins said he believes the mobile home to be a total loss because of fire damage to the bedroom and water and smoke damage to the rest of the building. He said the fire is believed to have been caused by an electric space heater that had been left on overnight. Wilkins said no one was in the mobile home when the fire started because the owner is currently in the hospital. He said a relative of the owner was supposed to be staying there while she is hospitalized but had stayed in Union overnight. Wilkins said the relative told firefighters he believed he left the space heater on the previous day when he left to go to Union.

Bonham and Kelly-Kelton fire departments also responded to the blaze. Wilkins said no one was injured in the fire and that firefighters were on the scene for approximately 90 minutes.

Union

A day later, the Southside Fire Department was dispatched early Monday morning to battle a fire in the kitchen of a Union residence.

Public Information Officer Roger Bailey said firefighters were dispatched at 4:24 a.m. to 524 Lovers Lane Road, Union, where an electric stove residents had been cooking on had caught fire. Bailey said firefighters were on the scene for approximately 45 minutes extinguishing the blaze. He said the damage, which was estimated at $500, was confined to the stove. No one was injured, but Bailey said the stove was a total loss.