Wylie residents witnessed emergency services in action as Wylie Fire Rescue, along with neighboring departments, managed to contain a mobile home park blaze on Tuesday. The fire, which broke out at Redwood Mobile Home Park in the evening, was reported by an alert neighbor who spotted flames in the front window, as stated by the Wylie Police Department. Despite handling two major accidents at the same time, Wylie Fire Rescue and their comrades from the Sachse Fire Department, as well as the Wylie Police Department, were at the scene in full force.
Upon arrival, Wylie Police were the first to give the rundown on the situation. Launched into an offensive attack on the uncontrollable fire, the first fire unit sent out battled the flames and had the fire under control in 21 minutes from the time dispatch was made. While no one was injured in the incident, the damage to the residence was extensive, characterized by extensive smoke and heat damage. The homeowner, absent at the incident's time, later conveyed to authorities her suspicions that her boyfriend, Kevin Ragsdale, might be the fire's initiator.
An investigation kicked off immediately, led by the Wylie Fire Marshal's Office, and received support from the Wylie Police Department and a Rockwall Fire Marshal canine unit trained in accelerant detection. With help from multiple facets of the Wylie Police including the Community Relations Officer, Crime Scene Unit, Digital Forensics team, and patrol officers on-scene, efforts to understand the event's cause were comprehensive. During the firefighting efforts, they learned that Ragsdale had been detained by the Princeton Police Department, information relayed by Wylie Communications.
Ragsdale, however, was already in custody with the Princeton Police Department for unrelated matters. Shortly after, Wylie's Criminal Investigations Division pulled a warrant for his arrest, charging him with Violation of Bond Conditions, he was placed under arrest and transported to the Wylie Jail. Investigations did not halt at Ragsdale's arrest, he was further implicated when an additional warrant for arson of a habitation was obtained against him.
The multidepartment response to the fiery incident was notable – tallying one ambulance, six fire apparatus, four fire chiefs, two fire prevention officers, an accelerant detection canine, and three police officers to the scene. As stated by Wylie Fire Rescue, the investigation is still ongoing. Inquiries can be directed to Chief Brandon Blythe at 972-429-8110 or [email protected], and Officer Alexandra Waters at 214-317-3267 or [email protected] for the Wylie Police Department.
