Man, 82, Saved From Fire in Home, Condition Stable

HUNTINGTON BEACH —  An 82-year-old man was in stable condition Monday after he was pulled from his burning mobile home by a neighbor, authorities said.

The victim, Fred Genge, was taken to Humana Hospital-Huntington Beach, where he was treated for smoke inhalation and an irregular heartbeat, authorities said.

Officials are investigating the cause of the 3:50 a.m. blaze at the Huntington Villa Mobile Home Park, 7850 Slater Ave., said William Cooper, chief of operations for the city’s Fire Department.

Damage to Genge’s mobile home was estimated at about $32,500.

Cooper said that a neighbor, Diane Gordon, woke up in the pre-dawn hours and saw a disoriented Genge standing in the doorway of his smoke-filled mobile home next door to hers.

Genge was about to turn back into the burning mobile home, but Gordon led him to safety and was credited with saving his life, Cooper said.

Gordon could not be reached for comment.

“The story we got from him (Genge) was that he was trying to adjust his thermostat and it started sparking,” Cooper said. “But typically, the voltages on thermostats are too low to create any sparks.”

Genge’s children were salvaging family mementos from the gutted mobile home Monday afternoon after visiting their father at the hospital.

Most of the family photographs survived the flames, as did many paintings that Genge had done, said his daughter, Lora Weir, 47, of Long Beach.

He told family members during their hospital visit that he had been turning on the furnace and a spark came out, Weir said. The sparks ignited some material, which Genge tried to put out with a fire extinguisher. He then called the Fire Department.

“He was pretty much in shock,” said Weir, who was told about the fire by the mobile home park manager.