Photo courtesy / CHRIS WEAVER, GAFFNEY FIRE DEPT. Flames erupt from the doors and windows of the home as firemen prepare to enter. Fire gutted a mobile home on North Limestone Street on Friday afternoon despite an extremely fast response from the Gaffney Fire Department, which was able to knock down the flames within minutes.

Located along the busy roadway, calls of smoke and flames to emergency dispatchers were almost immediate. Firefighters from all three city fire stations were able to converge on 1345 N. Limestone St. within minutes.

Fire Chief Nathan Ellis said there was smoke and flames showing on the northerly side of the home upon their arrival and in the few moments it took for firefighters to get their gear ready the fast-moving fire was spreading across the mobile home towards the south side.

Firefighters made entry to the structure through a front door and were able to quickly knock down the flames but damage was considerable.

After the flames were knocked down, firefighters had to rip apart much of the interior to douse smoldering insulation and other materials.

The lone occupant of the trailer, identified as Dennis Griffen, was not home when the fire broke out and had not arrived at the scene by the time the firefighters were packing up their gear to leave.

Chief Ellis said he left the homeowner contact information for the American Red Cross of Cherokee County for fire assistance.

An inspection of the fire damage allowed Ellis to determine the most likely cause of the fire was electrical. The point of origin was around a space heater that was located close to a mattress. The electrical cord for the space heater ran underneath the mattress.

Friday afternoon's fire was the third trailer fire in three days for the Gaffney Fire Department. They responded to a Wednesday night fire at a vacant mobile home off Wood Street.

Gaffney's Overbrook Fire Station assisted the Grassy Pond Volunteer Fire Department in battling a blaze at a mobile home on Park Place Road late Thursday.