ALLEGHENY TWP — Barb Anderson had owned a camper all her life, and never had one go up in flames before Wednesday.

A recreational vehicle was completely charred by a fire 50 feet from the residence of 141 Arrowhead Road at around 12:45 p.m.

“It makes you sick,” said Anderson, 46.

Anderson, who works a night shift, was sleeping in her house when, for an unknown reason, her 40-foot Nomad caught fire.

Susan Page, who lives two houses away from the Andersons, saw the smoke. They couldn’t see the camper because of trees.

Her husband, Dave, saw that the smoke was white, and thought it was his next-door neighbor burning something. However, the smoke intensified and he went to see the cause.

When he saw the camper was on fire, he unplugged it from the house, called 911 and knocked on the door of the Andersons’ home.

Once Barb Anderson was awake and outside, Page then removed propane tanks that were attached to the front of the camper and took them a safe distance away.

“The roof was totally on fire before I even knew what hit us,” Anderson said.

Anderson and Page attempted to get into the camper to get the fire extinguishers that were inside, but when they opened the doors smoke poured out.

Anderson attempted to use a hose to put the fire out, but it didn’t stretch far enough to reach the camper. The siding of Anderson’s house was melting from the heat, so Anderson and Page used the hose to water down the house while they waited for emergency responders.

Meanwhile, aerosol cans and hairspray cans were exploding inside the burning camper.

Firefighters arrived and had the fire under control in about five minutes using a 3¼-inch hose. They also hosed down the siding of the house.

Eau Claire assistant Fire Chief Ryan Enscoe called the camper “a total loss.” He estimated the damage to be around $25,000 and damage to the siding to be around $5,000.

“The state police fire marshal was notified of the fire due to the value of the loss at an undetermined cost,” Enscoe said.

Although the cause of the fire has yet to be determined, Anderson suggested “It had to have been the air conditioner.”

Anderson and her family used the camper the previous weekend. They had planned to go camping from Thursday through Monday, but came home Saturday due to faulty air conditioning.

“It worked but it would blow the main breaker,” Anderson said. “It was putting out too much juice at camp.”

Anderson added that electrical problems experienced by the campground where they were staying created confusion about the problem.

The Andersons came home and did not have any issues with the camper until the fire on Wednesday. They left the refrigerator plugged in to keep the food inside it fresh. Two queen-sized beds, clothes, tools, the refrigerator, blankets, and other possessions were destroyed in the fire.

The Andersons had owned the camper for two years.

In addition to Eau Claire Volunteer Fire Department, volunteer fire departments from Emlenton and Marion Township responded. Emlenton Ambulance Services also was on the scene.