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

DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 11, 1990                   TAG: 9007110335
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: B4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

ROANOKE FIRE INVESTIGATED

Authorities are investigating the cause of a Tuesday afternoon fire in a two-story frame house along Colonial Avenue in Roanoke.

District Fire Chief Bev Mitchell said the blaze started in an upstairs bedroom in the house, which was occupied by Robert Hummons.

When firefighters arrived, smoke was pouring from the eaves, and the bedroom was in flames.

Police were directing rush-hour traffic around firefighting equipment at the intersection of Colonial and Wonju avenues.

Investigators had virtually ruled out lightning as a cause of the fire, although it occurred in the middle of a violent thunderstorm.

One firefighter, Anthony Wallace, was treated and released at Roanoke Memorial Hospital after intense heat leaked onto his face in a gap between his mask and fire helmet. Wallace suffered second-degree burns.

Mitchell said a mattress and bed in the bedroom were consumed by the blaze.

by CNB