THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, April 11, 1996 TAG: 9604110312
SECTION: LOCAL PAGE: B1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JON FRANK, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: CHESAPEAKE LENGTH: Short : 44 lines
Jimmy J. Spencer was concerned about security at the home he owned in the 300 block of Clearfield Avenue.
He had several surveillance cameras throughout the building, fire officials said. He nailed windows shut, and he had an array of locks on doors.
Unfortunately, the heavily locked doors also prevented quick exits.
That may have contributed to the death of Spencer, 61, on Wednesday, said Chesapeake Fire Marshal Thomas H. Cooke.
A fire started when an electric space heater ignited combustible material and filled the garage with heavy smoke. Spencer, who was asleep in a van parked in the garage, apparently reached one of the garage doors, but was unable to unlock it before succumbing to smoke. No one else was hurt in the blaze.
Spencer lived in Corolla, N.C., but owned and rented the house in Chesapeake. Spencer would occasionally drive to Chesapeake to inspect his rental property, Cooke said. When staying overnight, Spencer slept in the van he kept in the garage.
Cooke said that one of Spencer's tenants noticed smoke sometime after 8 a.m. When the tenant saw Spencer's pickup truck parked in the driveway, he attempted unsuccessfully to get into the garage. The tenant then called 911.
Cooke said Spencer's body was found outside the van.
``He was slumped down by the door, trying to get at the lock mechanism,'' Cooke said. ``The way he had all those doors locked up, he didn't have enough time to get the locks loose.''
The fire did not do serious damage, Cooke said, but it did climb the walls to the attic. Firefighters had a hard time getting to the blaze there because of Spencer's security system.
``All rooms were heavily locked, and that presented a problem,'' Cooke said.
KEYWORDS: FIRE FATALITY by CNB