Fire officials say a 67-year-old woman died in a mobile home fire Sunday night in Epsom.
Rhonda Gardner’s cause of death and the fire’s origin remain under investigation, according to officials with the State Fire Marshall’s Office.
No one else was hurt in the fire, investigators said.
Firefighters from around the Suncook Valley responded to the fire shortly before 8 p.m. Sunday, mindful that someone might be trapped by the flames.
Lt. Joel French of the Epsom Fire Department said the call came at 7:54 p.m., alerting officials that a mobile home was on fire at 19 Breezy Acres, and that someone might be trapped.
The first firefighters arrived five minutes after the initial call and found the home completely engulfed by flames. Epsom firefighters received help from Northwood, Chichester, Allenstown, Pittsfield and Concord.
“It was a well-fueled fire,” said French, who was at the scene. He said the fire was brought under control in about 90 minutes.
Once the fire was put out, firefighters’ worst fears were realized when a body was discovered inside the home. Gardner, who lived in the mobile home, was identified less than 24 hours after the first call came in.
“Upon arrival, a mobile home was found to be heavily involved in fire,” the Division of Fire Safety said in its statement. “After the fire was extinguished, a deceased victim was located inside the structure.”
The statement went on to remind “all citizens of the importance of never smoking in or around medical oxygen and to always have working smoke alarms on each level of the home both inside and outside all sleeping areas.”
Adam Fanjoy, the district chief with the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which is supervising the investigation, said his department routinely insert tips on staying safe in a variety of ways.
He said information on the dangers of medical oxygen was not necessarily connected to the cause of the fire in this case.
“We look at different hypotheses, and hopefully we can prevent an injury or a fatality by doing that,” Fanjoy said.