SUGARCREEK TWP, Armstrong County — An accidental fire on Sunday morning made quick work of a mobile home, leaving the trailer on Kaufman Road in a pile of smoldering rubble.

A couple who lived there was home but neither was hurt. They had no insurance on the property, authorities said.

A definite cause is unlikely due to the extent of the damage but fire officials said one of the owner’s attempts to thaw his home’s pipes may have started the blaze.

Fire crews knew that getting to Jeff Kaufman’s older model mobile home, tucked away on a dirt road in the middle of woods, would pose a challenge because of the weather.

The township’s road crew was summoned to lead fire trucks on the call just after 10:40 a.m., laying down ashes on the one-lane road to the trailer.

Chief James Hillwig of the Sugarcreek Township Volunteer Fire Company said the sub-zero temperatures caused some of the hoses and the pumps of fire trucks and tankers to freeze up and become inoperable.

“We ran out of water for a short period of time,” Hillwig said.

But the water used in the fire fight presented another problem. It froze rapidly on the ground and in the path of firefighters.

“We had a lot of slips and falls,” Hillwig said. “But none of the firefighters was injured.”

The Kittanning No. 1 fire station responded with its rehabilitation truck that served as a warming station for firefighters.

Hillwig guessed the home was worth about $20,000.

Assisting the Sugarcreek VFC, were firefighters from Washington Township, East Franklin, Rayburn, Templeton and Kittanning in Armstrong County, Chicora in Butler County and East Brady in Clarion County.