WELD — A fire destroyed a mobile home Friday morning at 27 School St., across from Skoolhouse Variety. No one was injured.

A Weld man who noticed the smoke and went to investigate was able to save a car, two ATVs and a pickup truck by moving them out of the way, Weld fire Chief Corey Hutchinson said. But two pickup trucks that were parked close to the home were not saved.

Homeowner Christopher Smith and his girlfriend, Jennifer Hiltz, were out of town at work when the fire was reported just before 9 a.m., Hutchinson said.

Smith is a member of the Fire Department.

“We don’t know the cause, but there is nothing suspicious about it,” he said.

About 24 firefighters from Weld, Carthage, East Dixfield, Jay, Phillips and Wilton responded in the 23-degree temperature to assist. Franklin County Deputy Andrew Morgan and NorthStar EMS personnel stood by. Weld Highway Department sanded the area for firefighters.

Some firetrucks backed down the more than 300-foot-long driveway off Route 156 to supply water that was hauled from a dry hydrant in town, Hutchinson said.

Neighbor Joan Vella, who lives across the street, said she heard an explosion.

“Our house shook,” she said. She was standing near the oven and her feet moved, she said. 

She went out to see what happened, and flames were shooting out of the home, she said.

“I was so scared that someone was home,” Vella said. “It was gone in minutes. I can’t believe how fast it went up in flames. It was just unreal.”

Kevin Cochran, owner of Skoolhouse Variety, said people there saw smoke followed by flames.

“We felt it,” Cochran said of the explosion.

It was definitely good that no one was there, he said.

The family declined help from the American Red Cross, Hutchinson said. They have family in Weld and Wilton.

The couple lost everything in the home, he said.

Hutchinson said he was grateful for the mutual aid and the assistance of others who helped out.

The wind whipped the fire toward the woods, and a couple of trees started smoking, but firefighters quickly doused them, he said.

The home was insured.

dperry@sunjournal.com