SAN ANTONIO – UPDATE: The man killed in the fire was identified by the Medical Examiner's Office as 31-year-old Jonathan Simpson.
(Original Story)
San Antonio arson investigators are working to find the cause of a mobile home fire that killed a man on the city's Southwest Side.
Firefighters answered a 911 call around 6:30 a.m. Thursday and found a mobile home engulfed in flames in the 3400 block of Gwenda Lea Street.
The fire also spread to a motor home next door.
Battalion Chief Russell Johnson said the man who lives in the motor home woke up to a crackling noise, saw the fire and called for help.
"After our investigation and the fire was knocked down, we did find one victim. He was in a bedroom. Appeared to be sleeping," Johnson said.
The victim was a 31-year-old man.
Friends and neighbors gathered around after hearing the news, some appearing distraught and hugging each other.
"Two brothers lived there. One lived in the mobile home and one lived in the motor home. They didn't have any power at all hooked up to the trailer house," Johnson said.
The mobile home didn't have any smoke detectors, according to firefighters.
Johnson said both the motorhome and the mobile home appeared to be getting power from a generator.
"They were using candles in the house for lighting," he said.
Arson investigators will determine whether the generator and/or the candles caused the fire.
They spent hours digging through the fire scene, looking for clues.
As of 11 a.m., the Bexar County Medical Examiner's Office hadn't identified the man or determined a cause of death.
What neighbors are saying: