Fire destroys Geronimo home

By Jessica Sanders, The Seguin Gazette-Enterprise
A mobile home near Geronimo was destroyed on Wednesday in what investigators believe was an accidental fire.

Firefighters were called at 3:15 p.m., but they arrived at 119 Kickapoo Trail to find that the fire had already overtaken the building.

“When we arrived, flames were coming out the windows,” said Wayman Krueger, assistant chief of the Geronimo Volunteer Fire Department. “It’s a total loss.”

Guadalupe County Detective Sgt. Bruce Tubbs, the county arson investigator, said it appears the fire moved quickly through the mobile home.

Tubbs, who said Wednesday evening that he was still working out the details of the case, said someone was at home when the fire started, but believed that a neighbor made the 9-1-1 call. No one was injured in the blaze.

“During the preliminary investigation, it looked like an accident,” he said. “It looks like the fire started on the north side of the house and spread throughout the house.”

The home’s interior appeared to be charred and black, while a child’s plastic pool, some toys and a tricycle surrounded the house, apparently untouched by flames.

Krueger said firefighters from Geronimo VFD, Seguin Fire Department and York Creek VFD worked for about 30 minutes to control the blaze and used fans to remove smoke and monitored the area for hot spots. Well after flames subsided, tanker trucks remained ready along the street, hoses crisscrossed the lawn and firefighters stood ready to push back any resistant fires.

“We put fans in the doorways to clear out the smoke so we can see,” Krueger explained. “But a lot of times that wind from the fan will allow the fires to start back up again by feeding the flames, so we have to keep our equipment out and be ready.”