Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: THURSDAY, April 27, 1995 TAG: 9504270044
SECTION: CURRENT PAGE: NRV-2 EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY
SOURCE: KATHY LOAN STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHRISTIANSBURG LENGTH: Medium
The fire apparently was accidentally set in a playhouse area underneath a back porch, Christiansburg Fire Chief Jimmy Epperly said Wednesday.
Firefighters found a cigarette lighter and charcoal-lighter fluid where the fire started, the chief said.
Doris King said she had just showered and was feeding her baby boy dinner on Tuesday evening. Her other two sons, ages 8 and 9, were playing in another room of the small wooden house off Roanoke Street near Shelor Chevrolet. Suddenly, two neighborhood boys rushed in, she said.
The boys "came in and said my basement was on fire," King said.
King got her boys outside, and the Christiansburg Volunteer Fire Department came to bring under control what appeared to be a small fire.
But as the fire crew prepared to leave, King and others noticed smoke coming from the roof.
Firefighting resumed, and friends and neighbors scurried in and out of the house to help King save what belongings she could. Her husband was not yet home from work.
"My whole bedroom went, and my kids' room - completely," King said.
"As long as I got the kids out, the rest I can try to get back."
Epperly said that when firefighters arrived, there was a small room in the back of the house that was on fire. The room was closed off and firefighters thought they had the fire out.
But as the crew was leaving, Epperly said, "we did have some fire that we almost left," that burned through the roof near the back porch.
Epperly said the crew had not pulled enough of the house's siding off at first to fully stop the fire, and the fire ate through a wall.
The chief said he feels sure that the fire was accidental and that there was no intent to set the house on fire, but he still is investigating how it was started and by whom.
The fire caused several thousands of dollars in damage. The King family was moved from the house, owned by Jim Radford, and will not be able to move back in until it is brought back up to town code, Epperly said.
by CNB