Deputies identify survivor in fatal mobile home fire

People gather at the site of a house fire at 10018 Jefferson Rd. [Ken Helle | Times]

THONOTOSASSA -- Deputies have identified the man who survived a mobile home fire this morning that left two people dead.

John Wilkeson, 56, told Hillsborough Fire Rescue officials that his wife and an out-of-town guest were trapped inside the burning mobile home at 10018 Jefferson Road.

He told officials that he saw the fire at 2:20 a.m. and woke up the other two people inside the home, his wife and a man visiting from out of town. He then headed out the door of the home and thought the others were behind him. The home's door closed behind him and locked, and he couldn't get back inside to save the others, Wilkeson told fire officials.

Officials have not yet released the names of the two people who died in the blaze. The cause of the fire is unknown and may take time to determine because of the damage caused by the fire, said fire rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley.

The extreme conditions forced crews to fight the fire "defensively," and it wasn't until firefighters overcame the initial fiery onslaught that they were able to make their way inside, Yeakley said. The home has destroyed.

The State Fire Marshals Office is investigating the cause of the fire.

-- Abbie VanSickle and Casey Cora, Times staff writers