Fire Destroys One Fredericksburg Home, Damages Two Others (Photos)

A fast moving house fire at 1805 Washington Ave. eventually damaged the structures on either side early Sunday morning. 

"The occupants of the home were able to escape through the rear of the building before fire units arrived," Michael Jones, Fredericksburg Fire Department Deputy Fire Chief said in a press release.  No civilians or fire service personnel were injured during the incident.

The Fredericksburg Emergency Communications Center received the first of several 9-1-1 calls at 3:30 a.m.  Callers reported a fire in the dwelling at 1805 Washington Ave., Jones said. 

Additional reports along with first arriving police units indicated that more than one building was on fire.  Fire Department units responding found a heavy volume of fire covering the whole front portion of the house, Jones said.

The fire also had extended by radiant heat and flames to the structure to the right, 1803 Washington Ave.  The intense heat from the flames also melted the vinyl siding on the house to the left at 1807 Washington Ave.

Initial crews from the Fredericksburg Fire Department stretched multiple hose lines and extinguished the most visible fire on the exterior of 1803, as well as knocking down flames along the front porch of 1805, Jones said.  "They quickly transitioned into an aggressive interior attack on the main structure and were able to beat back the flames here and extinguish the fire," he said.

Crews from Stafford County Fire & Rescue arrived and assisted city units in a search of all three structures to ensure no one was inside.  "The occupants of both 1805 and 1807 Washington Ave. were out of their homes before the Fire Department arrived," Jones said.  The home at 1803 Washington is currently vacant.

During initial operations the electrical service drop for the home at 1805 burned in two and left live power lines hanging beside the nearby power pole, Jones said.  Dominion Virginia Power and Columbia Gas Systems representatives were both called to the scene to secure the power and gas to all three structures.

Fire units took about 20 minutes to extinguish the majority of the fire, and then spent several hours on the scene make sure there was no fire extension and to overhaul the burned areas, Jones said.

The building at 1805 Washington was a single-story house with attic space.  It was built in 1929, according to city records was built in 1929.  It had an assessed value of $126,000, and initial damage estimates are severe for this building, Jones said.  There is less damage to the other two structures.

The Fire Marshal’s Office of the Fredericksburg Fire Department conducted an origin and cause investigation.  "The fire appears to have originated on an exterior wall in the living room area," Jones said.  The cause is still undetermined but not considered suspicious, he said. 

The last fire unit cleared the scene at about 10 a.m.

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