The Register-Herald, Beckley, West Virginia

Local News

November 1, 2009

Faulty wiring suspected in Sophia fire

A Sunday fire at a Sophia business doesn’t appear to be suspicious, a local official said Sunday.

Sophia City Fire Department Chief Jeff Pittman said a 2:30 p.m. fire at Hairphernalia, a business at 200 W. Railroad Ave., was probably caused by “faulty wiring.”

According to Pittman, SCFD and firefighters with Sophia Area Fire Department arrived to discover a fire blazing in the building, which hosts both business and residential areas.

The upstairs and one side of the business is residential, while half of the bottom story is used as a business.

“No one was at home,” he said. “I don’t think anybody was living in the upstairs portion of the second story.”

According to the fire chief, the fire had originated in the floor joists between the first and second floors on the business side of the building.

Firefighters doused the flames in around 15 minutes, he said.

Pittman said minimal fire and water damage occurred, but the building incurred “a lot of heavy smoke damage.”

— Jessica Farrish

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