Charles Warner|Daily Times Three firefighters put on their breathing apparatus masks as they prepare to enter a Jonesville area mobile home that caught fire Wednesday evening. The firefighters were entering the structure to determine if there was still fire blazing in the roof.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times A firefighter stands by a fan on the porch of a Jonesville area mobile home. The fan is being used to create positive pressure ventilation to clear the smoke and the heat from the structure. The mobile home was gutted by a fire believed to have began when a fan shorted out.

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Charles Warner|Daily Times The interior of this mobile home at 860 S. Jonesville Highway was gutted by a fire that began in the master bedroom. The fire is believed to have been caused by an electrical short in a fan that was left on while no one was at home.

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JONESVILLE — A fire that gutted a Jonesville area mobile home Wednesday evening may have been the result of an electrical short.

Firefighters from three departments — Jonesville, Bonham, and Kelly-Kelton — were dispatched to the blaze at 860 S. Jonesville Highway, Jonesville, just before 8 p.m. and would remain there for nearly three hours. Despite their best efforts, however, Jonesville Fire Chief Jimmy Wilkins said the blaze gutted the interior of the structure, particularly the bedroom area where the fire is believed to have begun.

“There was a fan on a pedestal in the master bedroom which had been left on,” Wilkins said. “It either shorted out or there may have been something on the cord, but that was where the fire started.”

Wilkins said no one was home when the fire began and the blaze was reported by an emergency responder who noticed it as he drove by and contacted dispatch via radio.

The three fire departments were dispatched to the scene at 7:59 p.m. and would remain there until 10:44 p.m.

Wilkins said he believes the mobile home is a complete loss given the damage caused by the fire.

“The end of the trailer where the bedroom is was pretty much gutted,” Wilkins said. “The rest of the trailer was heavily damaged also. It’s probably a total loss.”

Wilkins said appliances like fans should not be left on when no one is at home.

“Portable equipment like fans and electrical heaters shouldn’t be left on when there’s no one there,” Wilkins said. “Another thing, clothes dryers should not be left on when nobody is there. I’ve been to several fires where either the clothes or the lint in the dryer caught fire.”

While any fire is dangerous and can spread quickly, Wilkins said fires that begin with unattended appliances are especially destructive.

“If they leave something on and they go off there’s nobody there to detect it when it happens,” Wilkins said. “It’s just going to keep burning. Just like in the case last night when there was somebody coming by and the fire was already coming out the windows.”