Fire destroys fifth wheel camper as owner makes narrow escape

The blaring sound of a smoke alarm and a narrow escape from a blazing camper averted disaster Tuesday night outside Onaway on M-68 near Porter Road in North Allis Township.

The occupant, Jim Cryderman, comes down from his home in Gwinn in Marquette County to help his ailing parents from time to time. He kept his fifth wheel camper parked on the property for a place to stay. The smoke alarm woke Cryderman around 10:30 p.m. as a fire under the trailer began to consume the entire unit.

Onaway Fire Department Chief Eric Rose said he got the call right after 10:30 and could see a bright orange glow in the sky.

?I live in Onaway and I could see the sky lit up in the direction of what we call Fusee?s Hill, where the horse farm is. I know there are quite a few barns and other outbuildings out there and I could see the flames through the trees. At the time I wasn?t sure what was the nature of the fire so I called for back up,? Rose said.

He alerted the Forest-Waverly and Case Township fire departments for assistance in case the fire was large, and about 20 firefighters were on the scene within minutes. Huron Beach, Ocqueoc and Bearinger departments also responded to the call.

?The snow was pretty deep out there, and the Huron Beach tanker got stuck and had to be pulled out,? Rose said.

While the firefighters were unable to save the camper trailer or any of the contents; Cryderman?s pickup truck sustained some damage, the sideview mirror melted along with some of the trim, and the paint was bubbled and cracked on the side facing the camper.

?Once we got out there, we were able to extinguish the fire in a few minutes, thank goodness it was only a trailer,? Rose said. According to Rose, a trailer fire is fast and furious.

?Our experience shows you only have about a minute-and-a-half to get out before it reaches lethal proportions, and total destruction takes less than ten minutes,? Rose explained.

We were close to ten minutes just to get to the fire, so it was pretty well destroyed by the time we arrived,? he continued.

Cryderman exited the trailer with all deliberate speed when he heard the alarm, but then found himself in his truck without his keys and no shoes on his feet. He then had to run a considerable distance to his dad?s farmhouse to call 911.

?I?m just glad to be alive,? he said.

A small wellhouse near the trailer also caught fire and was put out once the firefighters arrived. In addition, Rose said there was a 200-pound propane tank in the trailer and a 100-pound tank near the truck, as well as a considerable amount of ammunition going off in the trailer.

?Exploding ammunition can be really d

angerous if it is inside the barrel of a gun. Fortunately this stuff was in boxes. It still makes a lot of noise but is not as dangerous,? Rose said.

Rose said Cryderman was shook up and upset that he lost everything inside the fifth wheel, but otherwise he was not injured in the incident.

?He lost all his clothes, his wallet and other personal items in the fire,? Rose said.

As to the cause of the fire, Rose said it was apparent the fire started under the trailer, and Cryderman told him he had a light bulb under the trailer with bales of straw for insulation around the base of the unit.

?The major fire was right where his water inlet came into the trailer, and he said that was where the light bulb was located to keep the pipes from freezing,? Rose said.

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