ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Tuesday, December 31, 1996 TAG: 9612310118
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH
SOURCE: Associated Press
Discarded fireplace ashes caused the fire that destroyed a three-story apartment building and left 35 people homeless, a fire official said Monday.
Fire marshals have ruled the fire at Latitudes Apartments accidental, said Chase Sargent, a battalion chief for the Virginia Beach Fire Department. The ashes were in a plastic bucket on the third floor, he said.
``The occupant admitted putting discarded ashes on the porch,'' Sargent said. ``The ashes lit the bucket on fire. Then it spread to the porch, went up the wall, got into the attic and moved horizontally from there.''
The fire also blew the glass out of the apartment's sliding door and spread directly into living areas, Sargent said.
No one was killed in the Sunday evening blaze, which destroyed 20 apartment units and badly damaged many more.
``The building is pretty much wiped out,'' said Sargent, who estimated that the fire caused about $1 million in damage.
The building met the fire code and all of the apartments had smoke detectors, he said.
The only injury in the blaze was to fire Capt. J.C. Hicks, who suffered a neck injury when a ceiling collapsed on him. He was treated at a hospital and released.
All of the families displaced by the fire have the option of moving into vacant apartments in other buildings, said Tracy Loudermilk, a leasing official with Latitudes Apartments.
``Everyone who's been willing to move, we have moved, along with the help of American Red Cross,'' she said.
About 100 people worked Monday to help the tenants move any salvageable belongings to their new homes.
The Red Cross provided the displaced tenants with vouchers for clothing and furniture, food, blankets and pillows. In addition, van lines donated moving trucks, and local restaurants provided food.
Loudermilk said Charlotte, N.C.-based Boddie Noell Properties, which owns the complex, plans to rebuild.
House and apartment fires are often caused by discarded ashes, said Sargent. He said he has already seen five this winter.
``People need to understand that ashes can stay hot three to four days after they burn them,'' he said.
Ashes should be put into a metal container, wetted down and covered until they're discarded.
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