BELL COUNTY, Texas — One person is dead after a fire destroyed a mobile home and several other structures in Moffat, while a separate commercial vehicle fire shut down Interstate 35 for seven hours earlier the same day. The cause of each has not been released.
The Bell County Sheriff's Office held a press conference about the two incidents.
The structure fire broke out in the evening in the 11,400 block of State Highway 36 in Moffat. An older single-wide mobile home, a garage, and a shed were completely destroyed, along with an RV and a vehicle. State Highway 36 was shut down for several hours and reopened at approximately 1:30 a.m.
A body was found inside the mobile home.
"Unfortunately, an individual was discovered inside the main structure. The Bell County Sheriff's Office extends its deepest condolences to the individual's loved one and family," Cliff Coleman, public information officer for the sheriff's office, said.
The identity of the victim has not been released. Coleman said some family members had been notified but could not confirm whether next of kin had been fully notified.
Justice of the Peace Judge Duffield responded to the scene and ordered an autopsy on the deceased. The Bell County Sheriff's Office Criminal Investigation Division is the lead investigating agency for the death. The Temple Fire Marshal's Office and the Texas State Fire Marshal's Office are investigating the cause and origin of the fire.
Coleman said the scene remains active.
"Right now it is still smoldering. They are not actively putting out the smoke regarding that," Coleman said.
The Moffat Volunteer Fire Department was the first agency on scene, arriving within 8 minutes of receiving the call. Additional responding agencies included the Detroit Volunteer Fire Department, Temple Fire and Rescue, Morgan's Point Resort Fire Department, Morgan's Point Resort Police Department, and Temple EMS.
I-35 commercial vehicle fire
Earlier Sunday, at 4:40 a.m., the Bell County Sheriff's Office received a 911 call reporting a large fire from an 18-wheeler traveling southbound on Interstate 35 at approximately mile marker 311, just north of Troy.
The preliminary investigation determined that 30,000 pounds of tires being transported by the vehicle caught fire. Because the vehicle was in motion when the fire began, the incident is classified as a motor vehicle crash. No other vehicles were involved, and no injuries or deaths were reported.
The southbound lanes of I-35 were closed for approximately seven hours while emergency crews extinguished the fire and cleared the highway. Coleman said the extreme heat made cleanup a lengthy process.
"You can't just take those ashes and put them in a truck and take them to a dump, so you just have to wait that out in many circumstances. In addition to that, the Texas Department of Transportation had to arrive on scene and make sure that the highway was OK for travel," Coleman said.
During the closure, traffic was directed at Bruceville-Eddy to either get on Highway 7 or head out to Highway 317.
Coleman credited State Representative Brad Buckley for helping facilitate assistance from the Texas Department of Transportation, saying Buckley took his call at 6:15 a.m.
Responding fire departments for the I-35 fire included the Detroit Volunteer Fire Department, Temple Fire and Rescue, Rogers Volunteer Fire Department, Bruceville-Eddy Volunteer Fire Department, Lorena Volunteer Fire Department, and Sparta Volunteer Fire Department. Assisting law enforcement agencies included the McLennan County Sheriff's Office and the Troy, Lorena, and Bruceville-Eddy police departments.
The cause of the commercial vehicle fire also remains under investigation.
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