The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

January 5, 2012

Fire damages Greenbrier house

By Kara Van Pelt Register-Herald Reporter

A Greenbrier County home sustained damage from a fire believed to have originated in the flue of the home’s wood burning stove, according to Alderson Volunteer Fire Department.

The Greenbrier County 911 center received a call shortly after 10:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, reporting a structure fire south of Alderson, on W.Va. 3 on Ledge Creek Road, firefighter Matt Brooks said.

The home’s rural location presented a problem, Brooks explained, as fire trucks fitted with chains were not able to maneuver the 6 miles of roadway that led to the house due to a solid sheet of ice.

Instead, crews had to rely on a couple of utility vehicles that held a maximum of 300 gallons of water.

Although initial attempts to access the home created problems, the structure sustained minimal damage because of the timely response, Brooks said.

Once on scene, crews from Tri-County, Alderson and the volunteer fire department from the women’s federal prison successfully contained and extinguished the blaze within 30 minutes, Brooks added.

“I don’t think the structure itself was a total loss, but there was a lot of damage to the contents on the inside, including walls and windows,” Brooks said.

“The structure was a one room log cabin with an attic. The fire spread from the first floor to the attic and also burned through the floor into a crawl space below.”

Brooks said the owner was not home when the fire started and no injuries were reported.

“The structure was heavily smoked but we couldn’t see a lot of fire when we arrived on scene. Once we got inside, there were two areas that were on fire that basically put itself out. Thankfully there were not a lot of contents in the building to burn,” Brooks said.

Crews remained on scene for a total of five hours overhauling and cleaning up the property.

The resident, whose name has not been released, will stay with family until his home is deemed habitable, Brooks said.

Responding crews observed no evidence suggesting foul play, Brooks said. He added that there will be no investigation conducted into the fire’s origin because it appeared to be accidental.

— E-mail: kvanpelt@register-herald.com

Text Only
Local News