By ROBIN SHANNON
L’Observateur

LAPLACE — Fire officials in St. John Parish are still investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a LaPlace mobile home Friday afternoon.

Firefighters from LaPlace, Norco and East St. Charles spent nearly three hours extinguishing the blaze, which broke out sometime around 12:12 p.m. Friday, said LaPlace Fire Chief John Snyder. He said thick smoke from the fire billowed across nearby Airline Highway causing traffic to slow in the area.

Snyder said no one was injured in the fire, which completely engulfed the trailer home at 110 Vicknair Place, but he said one firefighter was checked out for heat exhaustion.

As firefighters were working to put out the flames, Snyder said heat from the fire caused bullets to shoot out from handguns inside the home. He said the guns were taken out and no one was injured.

Investigators said the fire started in a shed near the rear of the trailer that held containers of propane and other flammable liquids. It is believed that the liquids, along with heavy winds, contributed to spreading the fire toward the attic of the house from a nearby carport. Authorities still do not know what ignited the fire.