by Matt Harvey
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR
CLARKSBURG -- No one was injured when a fire gutted an unoccupied trailer early Tuesday morning about five miles north of downtown Clarksburg. However, two pets were killed in the fire.
Three volunteer fire departments -- Spelter, Lumberport and Shinnston -- responded shortly after 4 a.m. They were called out after trailer owner Patty Murphy, who lives across from the structure, was wakened when someone going to work saw the blaze and knocked on her door, she said.
Spelter Deputy Chief Mike Jackson said the house, located off county Route 18 near Lambert's Run Road, was fully involved when his crews got on the scene. Firefighters, who hauled water to the scene from a creek about a half a mile away, extinguished the fire in about 45 minutes. Within about two hours, fire crews were cleared to leave the scene.
Firefighters kept the flames from spreading to one home located adjacent to the trailer.
Jackson said the cause of the fire was not yet known.
Murphy said her poodle and cat died in the fire.
She said her husband, Dana, used the trailer as a sort of workshop, playing musical instruments there. His steel guitar, amplifier and tapes were lost in the fire, she said.
Murphy said she and her husband had some insurance coverage on the trailer.
Assistant Managing Editor Matt Harvey can be reached at 626-1448 or by e-mail at mharvey@exponent-telegram.com.