Article About Christmas Fire Doesn’t Tell the Whole Story

A report from Fort St. John in British Columbia published by Energetic City tells of a Christmas morning fire in what the paper calls a modular home, then later a mobile home. The home was located at the Peace Country Mobile Home Park in Fort St. John. The article says “as the building was a modular home, it is likely the fire spread quickly.” The home in question was likely either a mobile or manufactured home rather than a modular. Research has also shown the notion that these homes burn faster to be misleading and based construction techniques 30 years out of date. Jim Dietrich, senior vice president of sales at Roy’s Home Center in Gables, Michigan tells MHProNews.com that manufactured homes came to be known for burning quickly because they used to be built with paneling on the interior walls rather than sheet rock. Today, he says, manufactured homes are no more of a fire hazard than conventional homes. “The drywall is not going to ignite,” Dietrich says. “Manufacturers stopped using paneling in the late 1980s. We’re also now using non-combustible batt insulation material.” No one was at home during the blaze, but it likely killed the family cat. For more information see Do Manufactured Homes Burn Faster? Experts Say No.

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