Jon Johnson File Photo
By Jon Johnson
GRAHAM COUNTY – A camp trailer with disputed ownership burned to the ground the morning of Thursday, Sept. 12.
A Graham County Sheriff’s Office deputy was dispatched at about 8:02 a.m. to Proto Alley just south of Highway 366 (Swift Trail) regarding the burning camp trailer.
Upon arrival, a subject near the trailer had to be told to move away from the fully engulfed fifth wheel. The man said he believed a second subject and his wife to have started the fire.
As the Safford Fire Department arrived to put out the flames, the deputy spoke with the second subject and his wife, who were previously living in the trailer. They advised that they had just left and were at an adjoining friend’s residence having coffee while waiting for a ride to a methadone clinic when the first subject drove off with the camp trailer.
The second subject said they got into his friend’s vehicle to locate the trailer but were unsuccessful. They then saw smoke and went back to the friend’s residence, and the camp trailer was there on fire.
A fire investigation revealed that spliced extension cords plugged into the trailer ran a portable air conditioning unit. It was determined that the fire occurred due to faulty wiring as the AC unit required more watts than the amount available to be safely run through the extension cords.
