By JOE SEELIG

SEBRING — A single-wide trailer that was badly damaged in a Leisure Acres Mobile Home park fire on Monday could have been a lot worse if not for the quick action of some neighbors.

The fire broke out in the home of Kenneth Stewart and Mary Ann Morrow, in the 300 block of Second Street, after they left to visit a neighbor.

A next-door neighbor, Ruth Chrisman, said she said she first saw smoke.

“At that time glass fell out of the window,” said Chrisman. “I said ‘Oh my God, I better call 911.”

And she did.

Another neighbor, Ken Mears, who lives across Second Street, said he had just come out of his shed when he heard Chrisman yelling about the fire.

“I ran across and turned the faucet on (below the broken kitchen window) and squirted water in there,” said Mears. “I thought I had it out but it flamed up three times.”

Mears said he then realized he was pouring water on a kitchen and thought about the electricity that could have traveled up the hose. Water is a great conductor.

His actions kept the fire in check until help arrived.

First came a patrol car, then an ambulance, then city of Sebring Fire-Rescue firefighters arrived and went inside.

Property owners Stewart and Morrow heard the commotion in the neighborhood and went to see what was going on. Morrow said she was shocked to learn it was her house, she said.

“We fixed dinner and left here,” said Stewart. “She said she turned everything off. Everything is smoke-ruined.”

The couple purchased the trailer in January and moved there from Frostproof. They were scheduled to head back to Ohio.

“We were leaving a week from today,” said Morrow. “We’re not now.”

Stewart said the entire place would have to be remodeled.

Sebring Fire Chief Brad Batz said their first concern was to make sure no one was inside. The smoke was all the way down to the floor when they went inside, he said.

The heat from the fire was so intense it melted plastic molding around the glass sliding door.

Once firefighters searched the home, they dealt with the fire. Batz gave the neighbor credit.

“The water he applied did keep it in check until we were able to arrive,” Batz said. “The fire was contained to the kitchen.”

Firefighters used the garden hose to douse the remaining fire to keep water damage to a minimum, said Batz.

State Fire Marshal Investigator Brandon Ball said Monday afternoon the fire started in the area of a toaster on the counter top and said he did not want to speculate if it was an appliance failure or something else.

He said the damage inside came to about $5,000, estimating the trailer’s value at about $40,000.