A late night fire that erupted Thursday night was still under investigation Friday, although the Greensburg Fire Department was satisfied with its findings.

According to GFD Chief Scott Chasteen, a fire started in the kitchen of a mobile home at 904 W. Walnut St. at around 11:50 p.m. There were several factors that could have started the fire, but nothing that could be singled out, he noted.

“We feel confident that it started in the kitchen area. Basically, we’ve ruled it an accident. We can’t really pinpoint the exact source of the fire because there were several things that could have contributed. We’ve ruled out any foul play,” Chasteen said.

The GFD responded with two engines and eight personnel, he said, but that number bloomed to 16 firefighters as they worked to snuff the fire. Chasteen said with the flames burning furious and the occupancy unknown, there was some immediate cause for concern. Firefighters believed they heard noises from the back of the home and quickly beat back the flames to give the firefighters some time to enter the home in the back. The trailer is the home of Shon Warnar and Stephanie Williams, but they were not home at the time.

The quick search turned up no occupants, so the firefighters hit the structure hard to quell the flames.

“Once we got the fire knocked down, we went back in to do a full search,” Chasteen said.

While the firefighters were making sure no one was in the home, they were careful to not upset anything that may be needed as evidence for the investigation.

“We don’t want to just start throwing things out the window,” Chasteen said.

It took nearly four hours before Chasteen was satisfied the blaze was out and the preliminary investigation had been conducted. Investigators and the state fire marshal returned Friday to go over the burnt home thoroughly to make their determination.

The home is being considered a total loss estimated around $26,000, which includes items the occupants lost in the fire. Chasteen said the American Red Cross has offered temporary assistance, but Warnar and Williams luckily have insurance to help them get back on their feet.

Given the circumstances, Chasteen was glad the fire wasn’t as bad as it could have been. He credited the diligent and quick work of his firefighters, a few of whom are new to the department, for containing the fire. He added the mobile home community was properly adhering to city codes regarding separation between individual trailers, which reduced the danger of the fire spreading.

“The trailers had a good separation to them. It was also nice we didn’t have any wind,” Chasteen said.

The Greensburg Police Department, Decatur County Sheriff’s Department and Decatur County EMS assisted at the scene.