RESERVE — A local resident and her grandson, as well as the family’s two dogs, escaped injury this week during an early morning, mobile home fire in Reserve.

St. John the Baptist Parish firefighters were dispatched to the blaze at 7:41 a.m. Tuesday, arriving on scene at 147 Falgoust Lane in Reserve two minutes later.

Chief of Operations Cain Dufrene credited the initial scene responders for their quick and correct assessment, which included locating the fire’s source, determining the home’s two occupants were outside safe and discovering the family’s pets were still inside.

“They knew the fire was in the back corner bedroom,” Dufrene said. “They made entry into the front door, made way to the fire and stopped it from spreading beyond that room, which is a really quick knockdown, which is how we like to see it done.”

The family’s two dogs were found safe and returned healthy to the owners, Dufrene said. Authorities estimated the fire was under control in 18 minutes and cleared in 45 minutes, with 10 firefighters participating in response. Dufrene said the fire was unintentionally set in the mobile home’s bedroom, adding foul play was ruled out the same day.

Wallace blaze

More than a dozen firefighters helped extinguish a Wallace, mobile home fire Tuesday morning, but not before the blaze destroyed much of the structure, officials said.

A neighbor alerted authorities to the abandoned mobile home fire at 10:17 a.m. at 119 W. 19th St. in Wallace.

The initial responders, who eventually totaled 15, noted heavy smoke coming from a bedroom window. The fire was reported under control in 20 minutes.

“They hurried up and made entry and knocked that fire down, as well,” Dufrene said. “That one was spread beyond the room by the time we got there.”

Authorities were told the mobile home was abandoned and noticed few items in the location at the time of the blaze. No injuries were reported.

The fire’s cause has not been determined.

“We’re doing a little bit more investigation on that one,” Dufrene said. “There was no occupant of the trailer. It didn’t appear to be suspicious, but we haven’t quite ruled that out yet.”

Dufrene said the fire department would notify the parish’s planning and zoning department about the damaged property so it can be monitored for safety.

“The parish does have a program in place that if you can’t afford to demo your property as the result of a fire, public works can take care of that if you can prove it is a hardship on you to render it safe,” Dufrene said.