ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, May 10, 1996 TAG: 9605100085
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: BETTY HAYDEN SNIDER STAFF WRITER
A 20-year-old Roanoke man accidentally set his house on fire Thursday when he dropped a cigarette, igniting fumes from a container of gasoline.
David Dickerson and a friend had been painting an upstairs bedroom at Dickerson's one-story brick home in the 2700 block of Chatham Street Northwest.
John Flurnoy, 23, of Roanoke County said the men were downstairs playing pool and listening to music about 6:30 p.m. The paint brushes they had used were soaking in some gasoline nearby.
When Dickerson dropped his cigarette on the floor, flames were suddenly everywhere, Flurnoy said.
"It happened so fast," he said. "The next thing I knew, I looked back and flames were shooting up 10 feet high."
Flurnoy fled through a basement door; he said Dickerson stayed behind and tried unsuccessfully to stamp out the fire.
Dickerson suffered second-degree burns to his left leg. He was treated at the scene and refused to be taken to a hospital, rescue workers said.
District Chief John Johnson said the immediate burst of flames the men reported seeing is called a flashover - the sudden spread of flames which occurs after a substance reaches its flash point
Flames consumed the basement but did not spread upstairs. District Chief John Johnson estimated the fire caused between $10,000 and $15,000 worth of damage.
He said people should remember to store chemicals that give off fumes in open areas with plenty of ventilation.
"Fumes are so dangerous," Johnson said. "People just don't realize that."
LENGTH: Short : 38 linesby CNB