Fire damages Coralville mobile home, kills cat

UPDATE: A Coralville woman returned home Tuesday morning to find firefighters extinguishing a blaze at her residence.

The fire at Lot 346 at Western Hills Mobile Estates, 3701 Second St., destroyed the mobile home and claimed the life of a cat, but no humans were injured, authorities said. An investigation was under way, but authorities said an electrical malfunction likely caused it.

No one was home when a neighbor reported smoke coming from the mobile home at 5:27 a.m. The first crew to arrive found heavy smoke and flames coming from the back corner of the home.

“We had it knocked down in about five minutes upon arrival, and pretty much out in 15 minutes,” said Orey Schwitzer, assistant fire chief with the Coralville Fire Department.

The fire tore through the back corner, leaving a hole about six feet wide. Schwitzer said the fire originated there, in a back bedroom. Heavy smoke damage was present throughout the home, he said.

The owner of the mobile home, Ramon Nunez, was out of town and resident Evelyn Torres was at work when the fire was reported, authorities said. Torres returned from her overnight shift to find fire engines lining her street, Schwitzer said.

Authorities said the couple would be displaced. The American Red Cross was offering assistance.

[mqMap showScale="true" key="8xIV" width="485" height="440" src="http://www.mapquest.com/embed?icid=mqdist_mb_wp&c=8xIV&maptype=map&zoom=14¢er=41.698273964188424,-91.62225896289102&projection=sm&showScale=true"/>