Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, January 1, 1994                   TAG: 9401010083
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-3   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: HARTWOOD                                LENGTH: Medium

KEEN-EYED CAR POOLERS SOUND FIRE ALERT

While traveling on U.S. 17 to their jobs at GEICO on Thursday morning, Kampe and four of her friends passed by the Greens at Fall Runs apartments and noticed smoke coming from one of the apartments.

At first, they didn't pay much attention, Kampe said, until passenger Christine Dussault saw flames.

"I said, `Something seems like it's burning,' " said Dussault. "When I saw the flames, I said, `My God, something [is] burning. Stop and turn around!' "

The friends, who were the first to arrive on the scene, dashed to the building, pounded on the door of the apartment on fire, called 911 and immediately began beating on other doors to get people out of the building.

As soon as they arrived, "we were out of the car and banging on doors," Dussault said. "People didn't have the foggiest idea of what was going on."

Kampe said she did not think anyone knew the apartment was on fire. No one was inside the burning apartment.

No one was injured in the fire, said Lt. Dave Norris of the Hartwood Fire Department. Several residents of neighboring apartments were evacuated, many wearing their pajamas, he said.

Norris said it was fortunate for them that the car pool came along when it did.

"It was very important that they alerted those people to get them out," he said. "It could have been really ugly if the fire had occurred at night, because someone would have gotten hurt."

The fire's cause hasn't been determined, but investigators have classified it as suspicious, Norris said.

He said the fire occurred on the exterior of apartment 204. That apartment and one beneath it received smoke and water damage.

Norris said it will probably be a couple of weeks before investigators know the cause of the fire.

Cindy Edwards, district manager for the Stafford County apartment complex, said anyone displaced by the fire will be given temporary housing.

The car pool was a tad bit tardy getting to the office, Kampe said, but at least the employees could give their boss a legitimate excuse.

"I guess they took our word for it," she said with a laugh. "We smelled like smoke when we came in."