Resident warming frozen pipes sparks fire at Hempfield mobile home

A resident using a heat gun Wednesday morning to thaw pipes in a Hempfield mobile home sparked a fire that heavily damaged the home, according to fire Chief Anthony Kovacic.

The resident escaped unharmed and called 911 about 10:30 a.m.

Firefighters extinguished the flames, leaving about half of the Flamingo Drive home with fire damage. They pulled out pieces of furniture and doused them with water.

A number of fire companies responded to the call that is in the area covered by Hempfield’s High Park Volunteer Fire Department. The station has been on probation since June 2022 for failing to respond to calls. It was unclear if High Park responded to Wednesday’s blaze. There were no High Park firetrucks parked in the vicinity of the home.

Volunteers with High Park responded to just one of 53 emergency calls during the final three months of 2023, according to Hempfield officials.

The firefighters who were there contended with cold temperatures and icy conditions. It was 12 degrees at Arnold Palmer Regional Airport and the region was under a wind chill advisory around the time of the blaze, according to the National Weather Service in Moon.

A firefighter threw down salt on the road in at least one spot of Flamingo Drive that was shaded by a firetruck. Kovacic said the conditions didn’t deter firefighters.

“For a daytime fire, we had a pretty good response,” he said.

Frozen pipes can be prevented by adding insulation or using items such as heat tape, according to Kovacic and the American Red Cross.

“You want to be mindful of where your problem areas are,” he said. “If you can open up cabinetry that maybe tends to have problems like that, keep the heat getting into that area naturally. It was an unfortunate situation that obviously comes when you get temperatures like this.”

The Red Cross also suggests letting water drip from a faucet served by the pipes that may be at risk of freezing. In the event of frozen pipes, use an electric heating pad, a hair dryer, a space heater or towels soaked in hot water to thaw them, the Red Cross advises.