Broken light fuels motorhome fire

At approximately 9:30 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 16, Clear Lake dispatch received a call about a motorhome on fire at 217 Asbury Drive, at the intersection of Asbury and Fletcher near DAR Park.

The responding Clear Lake police officers reported the motorhome was fully involved when they arrived and a large volume of smoke could be seen from as far away as Mason City.

According to Clear Lake Fire Department Public Information Officer Billy Krefft, it appears the owner of the motorhome, Keith Haugen, was doing some repair work on a fuel fill line.  A trouble light broke and the residual fuel caught fire. An attempt was made by the owner to put out the fire with two portable fire extinguishers, but the fire became too hot and flames spread rapidly.

The CLFD EMS responded and was on scene within five minutes of being paged and responded with an additional three apparatus and 10 firefighters on scene within eight minutes, Krefft reported.   Alliant Energy was called in to shut off power to a  line directly overhead of the blaze and repair the two power supply lines to both 217 and 213 Asbury that were damaged from fire.

The motorhome, a 1998 Tropical valued at approximately $20,000, is a total loss.   A vehicle parked nearby, a 2007 Chevrolet Impala LT, sustained about $500 damage, and the homes at 217 Asbury and 213 Asbury had some damage due to the intense heat.  That damage was estimated at $500 each. 

The quick response and knock down by the CLFD eliminated the spread of the fire to the two homes within 30-feet of the coach parked at the curb.

The owner of the motorhome and 217 Asbury is Keith and Cathy Haugen.  The owner of the home next door at 213 Asbury is Clairne Olson.

One person was transported to Mercy Medical Center Mason City for minor injuries by the Clear Lake EMS.