Posted: 8/27/03

Firefighters snuff 1 blaze, canít stop mobile home fire

Cliff Buchan
News Editor

A tip by a citizen, a keen eye by a Forest Lake cop and fast action by a firefighter may have saved Norman Quackís last Friday.

But the owners of a mobile home in Woodlund Trailer Park were not so lucky the night before when their home was lost to flames.

The Thursday night blaze was reported around 4:30 p.m. and when Forest Lake firefighters arrived at 7A Lee St., the home was fully engulfed in flames, said Fire Chief Gary Sigfrinius.

Melanie Hillman and her twin five-year-old sons were at home when the blaze started, the chief said. The three occupants escaped safely, he said.

Sigfrinius said officials have confirmed the fire was started by one of the boys who was playing with a cigarette lighter. He said a chair in the living room was set on fire and the blaze quickly spread.

Hillmanís husband, Jeff, and two other children, were not at home at the time of the fire, Sigfrinius said.

The fire chief said the home was a total loss. He placed the loss at $30,000, including contents. The Hillmans were staying with relatives this week.

Friends of the family in Forest Lake have established a fund at TCF in Forest Lake to benefit the family. Donations can be sent in care of the family.

Norman Quackís

It was a happier ending at Norman Quackís Chophouse, 843 W. Broadway Ave. at 7:24 a.m. Friday.

Forest Lake police officer Rick Peterson was driving on patrol when a motorist flagged him down and reported smoke coming from a building. Peterson began checking businesses in the area.

As he drove through the parking lot of Broadway Commons, the home of Norman Quackís, Peterson saw smoke coming from a vent and observed flames in the kitchen area.

ìThat didnít seem right at that time of the morning,î Peterson said.

He quickly called for fire and rescue.

Bruce Wightman, assistant fire chief, was first on the scene. He used a night stick to shatter the glass to the front door and get inside.

Once inside, he found a fire extinguisher and attacked the blaze centered in the oven and stove area.

The blaze was quickly controlled. As a precaution, Forest Lake called for mutual aid from the Wyoming Fire Department.

Business owners Gordy and Monique Skamser spent most of Friday cleaning up the restaurant, replacing the door and installing a new oven.

By 6 p.m. Friday they were given the green light to reopen.

Without the citizen report and the fast action by Peterson and Wightman, the fire would have been much worse, Monique Skamser said.

The building was not occupied at the time of the fire on Friday morning.

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