Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, July 19, 1995 TAG: 9507190034
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: TONYA WOODS STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
As she stared Tuesday morning into what was left of the gutted house at 1216 Tazewell Ave. in Southeast Roanoke, she recalled how she was told the nightmare began.
It was after 4 a.m. when her brother-in-law, Tony Dillon, heard a loud bang and looked out his window. Across the street, he saw his mother's house in flames.
Dianna Dillon said her brother-in-law tried to reach his mother. First he kicked in the front door, but was driven back by the heat. He then went to the side of the house and broke his mother's bedroom window with his hand.
"He tried to save her, but he couldn't find her," Dianna Dillon said.
Firefighters got to the scene at 4:25 a.m., but the house was engulfed in flames and they were unable to get in, either. They found Doris Dillon's body in her bedroom.
Dillon, 53, died of smoke inhalation, according to the medical examiner's office. Tony Dillon received cuts that required stitches, but he was not hospitalized.
Roanoke police said it appeared the cause of the fire was an electrical problem.
"Just about everything was destroyed," Dianna Dillon said as family members and neighbors milled about the house trying to make sense of what happened. A burned chair sat in the front yard, along with other belongings that were unrecognizable.
For seven years, Doris Dillon had lived alone. Recently she had complained about electrical problems in the two-bedroom house she was renting with a federal subsidy, according to Dianna Dillon.
Dave Baldwin, director of the Roanoke Housing Authority, said a housing quality inspection was conducted at the house March 6, and no electrical problems were noted. Baldwin added that at the time of the inspection there was a smoke detector in the house and it was working.
Keywords:
FATALITY
Memo: ***CORRECTION***