Life hasn’t been kind lately to David Sears and Anita Owens.

Monday morning it went from bad to worse for the jobless Lawrence couple when their mobile home was gutted by fire.

“I don’t think we can salvage anything,” Owens, 59, said, fighting back tears, as she waited outside the mobile home at 1045 E. 23rd St.

About 9:30 a.m., while Sears, 51, who had filed for unemployment, was seeing about possible job interviews, Owens was taking a shower at home when she smelled smoke.

“I didn’t think anything about it at first, and then I decided I better get out,” Owens said.

Owens had just enough time to throw on some clothes and get out of the trailer as it filled with smoke. Flames built up in the east end of the trailer, she said.

“It just happened really fast,” Owens said.

Owens ran to a next-door neighbor’s mobile home and called firefighters.

The blaze was controlled by 10:10 a.m., said Deputy Chief Mark Bradford, of Lawrence-Douglas County Fire & Medical.

Lawrence Firefighters respond to a mobile home fire at 1045 E. 23rd St. but are unable to prevent its destruction. There were no injuries in Monday's fire, but one of the home's occupants, Anita Owens, said she thought nothing could be saved.

“All of these types of structures go very, very quickly,” Bradford said of mobile home fires.

Fire investigators suspect the fire started in the electrical wiring but they will never be able to make a final determination, Bradford said. The wiring was destroyed and there is no electricity going into the house now, he said.

“There’s nothing left to clarify the cause,” Bradford said.

Sears returned home about noon, not knowing his home had been destroyed.

Sears had left home that morning on a city bus. The couple’s car — with one rear tire flat — was parked a few feet from the mobile home. The car also was disabled because of a transmission problem, Owens said.

Owens, who said she’d lived in the mobile home for two years, escaped with only the clothes she was wearing.

Unable to work because of a heart condition, Owens also lost her medication in the fire. It will be replaced by Healthcare Access, said Jane Blocher, director of the Douglas County Chapter of the American Red Cross.

The Red Cross is providing temporary lodging for Sears and Owens, Blocher said. The couple also were provided with vouchers to help purchase food and clothing.

The mobile home had electrical problems in the recent past, Owens said. Lights had gone out, and fuses had blown.

Owens’ landlord, Jo Ann Qandil, said she thought the mobile home’s wiring had been weakened by space heaters. She said the gas had been shut off to the residence at one time and the couple were using space heaters to keep warm.

Qandil also said the fuses and electrical system had been checked as recently as this past weekend.

Anita Owens escaped the mobile home fire, leaving after she smelled smoke.

Anyone who has a complaint about the condition of their rental home and thinks an inspection should be conducted can call Lawrence Neighborhood Resources, 832-3100.

Owens said she was unsure about what she and Sears would do next. They did not have renter’s insurance.

“I don’t know what we’re going to do,” Owens said. “At least we weren’t hurt.”

If anyone wants to donate items or assist the couple, they should call the Red Cross (843-3550), Blocher said. Sears’ and Owens’ problems for receiving assistance are compounded because they have no permanent place to live.

Qandil said she would try to find another mobile home for the couple to live in.

¢ 6News video: Fire leaves two homeless

“I feel very bad for them,” she said.

Another resident of the mobile home court, Annette Basurto, approached Owens and offered to help.

“We don’t have much, but we’ll do what we can,” Basurto said.