A fire that started when a mattress fell on top of a generator destroyed a travel trailer and an unoccupied home at the 100 block of W. Fifth St. in Benson on Saturday, then spread to two other properties where a fifth-wheel was destroyed. The heat from the initial blaze also sparked a fire at a second unoccupied home and caused substantial damage to that structure, according to Benson Fire Chief Keith Spangler.
“My understanding is, that the second home belongs to winter visitors that are out of town at this time,” Spangler said.
“The call came in around 3:52 Saturday afternoon with the initial fire ... That fire totally destroyed the travel trailer and house at that location, then spread west to a property ... where the fifth-wheel was completely destroyed. The second home ... sustained substantial damage,” Spangler said.