Odell mobile homes destroyed in fire Monday

“The fire is still under investigation, but we know it started in the shed attached to the garage, but have not determined at this point what the source of ignition is or how it started,” said Wy’East Fire District Chief Greg Borton.

Wy’East responded to the 6 a.m. fire, assisted by West Side, Hood River and Parkdale fire departments. Mid-Columbia Fire and Rescue from The Dalles sent personnel to Hood River for emergency medical backup.

The homes are owned by Juan Martinez and Carmen and Pedro Elizondo and had four occupants each. Everyone got out safely and friends and neighbors offered immediate shelter. The American Red Cross was called in to assist the residents.

“It was a cold morning, 24 degrees, and none of the water froze, except where it was spilling out on the ground, and it made the pavement pretty slick,” Borton said. Firefighters used water and then layers of foam to douse the fire.

Complicating fire suppression efforts was the double construction of the mobile home that was destroyed: Joining the two sections are parallel two-by-eight-inch beams connected with plywood.

“The fire gets trapped in a narrow space between the two beams, and once the two large beams are ignited, trying to get between there to extinguish it is really hard, especially when you have compromised integrity of the structure,” said Capt. Tiffany Peterson.

“That’s where we had the most trouble with this fire,” she said.