:quality(70)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/shawmedia/BE6Y5AP4RUHJF5YAXVKLDPWH2U.jpg)
An early morning fire at Sunrise Terrace mobile home court has left a family of three without a home weeks before Christmas. Lee Salsberry along with his girlfriend and 4-year-old son all made it out of the mobile home safely after they noticed a fire on the front porch.
“Most likely it was electrical, Christmas lights,” Salsberry said. “We were lucky to be up. Ten more minutes, and we probably would have been dead.”
Newton Fire Chief Jarrod Wellik said the department received the call at midnight and upon arrival found the family had made it out of the back door of the home. Firefighters were able to rescue the family’s cats from the house.
“The house is pretty much a complete loss,” Wellik said. “There is smoke and water damage to the parts that weren’t burnt.”
Salsberry said the response from the NFD was quick and helped save part of the structure.
“Trailers normally burn down pretty quick. They got it out before it was 100 percent gone,” Salsberry said. “There is only one room in the house where it is only smoke damage and salvageable.”
The family, who had home insurance, is staying with family in Newton.
Wellik said fire personnel was on the scene for a little more than an hour at the mobile home court.
Contact Jamee A. Pierson at 641-792-3121 ext. 6534 or jpierson@newtondailynews.com