Belen firefighters discover deceased woman in burning mobile home

BELEN–A woman was found dead in a burning mobile home Wednesday afternoon in Belen.

Belen Assistant Fire Chief Charles Cox said firefighters were dispatched for smoke coming from a single-wide mobile home at the Chavez Trailer Park, 1115 S. Main Street in Belen, just before 3 p.m. Wednesday.

“When firefighters responded to the scene at spot No. 13, there was heavy smoke coming from the trailer,” Cox said. “Crews advanced and made entry into the structure. They did a primary search and found a victim in the back room.”

Cox said firefighters removed the woman from the mobile home and tried life-saving measures to no avail.

Belen Deputy Police Chief Jose Natividad said officers were also called to the scene to assist firefighters, and when he arrived on scene, the woman had already been removed from the home.

“We don’t know the cause of the fire yet; all we do know is we have a woman in her mid 40s, who hasn’t been positively identified yet, who is deceased,” Natividad said. “We have an idea who she is, but identification is still pending.”

Both Cox and Natividad said the state fire marshal’s office was on the way to lead the investigation.

“We will do a side-by-side investigation with them,” Natividad said. “It’s way too early to say if it’s a suspicious death … and we don’t know how the fire started yet.”