A 39-year-old La Plata County man died from injuries suffered in a mobile home fire last week in the Grandview area southeast of Durango.
The Durango Fire Protection District was dispatched Wednesday evening to a mobile home fire on County Road 232. About 10 minutes later, firefighters arrived to find the home “engulfed in fire,” said Karola Hanks, Durango fire marshal.
Two residents were outside the building and said they believed one person was still in the home, Hanks said.
Firefighters began to extinguish the fire with water then did a search and rescue of the building. They found one victim, who was taken to Mercy Regional Medical Center and later pronounced dead. A dog and a cat also died in the fire.
Crews continued fire suppression until it was fully extinguished. No firefighters or law enforcement officers were injured.
“I cannot release any names in relation to this fire at this time because it is under investigation,” Hanks said.
La Plata County Coroner Jann Smith said the man’s autopsy is scheduled for this week.
Twenty-one DFPD personnel, four engines and two medic units responded to the incident, Hanks said.
Durango Fire has opened an investigation into the incident in conjunction with the La Plata County Sheriff’s Office.
“It’s very normal to do a fire investigation following a significant fire,” Hanks said. “The purpose behind a fire investigation is to determine what the cause of the fire is and how we can educate the community to avoid having that kind of fire again.”
smullane@durangoherald.com
