Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, April 26, 1994 TAG: 9404260148
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: B-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE:
DATELINE: LENGTH: Short
District Fire Chief Bobby Slayton said the fire, which occurred on the top-floor apartment at 1708 Tazewell Ave. S.E., was caused by a pan of french fries sitting on a stove. The fire spread to the kitchen cabinets; flames could be seen coming out of the kitchen window.
Tammy Tolley, 11, her sister Donna and their mother were talking in the back yard, Tammy said.
"Mom was hanging the laundry and we saw smoke. ... I ran inside to call 911," she said.
Tammy went to the downstairs apartment to call and told the operator that her brother and sister were still upstairs.
Meanwhile, Tammy's mother, Cindy Huffman, ran upstairs. Huffman's husband, John Huffman, was at work at the time of the fire. Their other daughter, Ashley, also was not in the house when the fire occurred.
Slayton said Cindy Huffman had to run through the fire in the kitchen to the back bedroom where her daughter Joyce, 3, and son John, 18 months, were taking a nap.
The family was safe and damage to the house was kept to approximately $5,000.
by CNB