Fire causes significant damage to Gloucester home
GLOUCESTER, Va. (WAVY) — There is significant damage to a Gloucester home following a fire Thursday morning.
The home is located along Route 17/George Washington Memorial Highway. Crews closed one lane during the fire response.
Resident Zachary Hessler told 10 On Your Side he was sleeping at first, and said the situation triggered a lot of anxiety.
“So, I was in my room actually sleeping,” Hessley said. “It was around nine something. And I don’t know where we heard, like, a brutal scream, and [my roommate’s] dad was screaming. There was a fireball out here … He’s got a dryer on the front porch, engulfed in flames.”
Gloucester Volunteer Fire & Rescue Chief J.D. Clements said the call came in around 9:25 a.m. He also said there are two apartments inside the building, with four residents living there.
WAVY images from the scene show extensive fire damage to the front of the home, and part of the roof caved. 10 On Your Side also observed an ambulance and a wheelchair.
Clements said he believes the house is a total loss.
“The fire was deeply embedded,” Clements said. “We pulled down ceilings. It was no access to the attic space. So, we had to make our own access and had blown in insulation.”
He confirmed all four people inside made it out safely. It took them about 30 minutes to put out the flames. Abingdon fire crews assisted with the response.
The chief told 10 On Your Side what he thought may have cause the fire.
“Essentially, it followed right into the front porch earlier, and it appears to be electrical in nature,” Clements said.
Zachary thought the same thing. Not too long after crews left, he and his roommate were at the home trying to salvage what they could.
“A lot of his stuff does look like it’s OK,” Zachary said. “Some of the stuff like electronics stuff might be damaged. I have a very expensive TV in there. We’re hoping maybe the TV might be all right. But yeah, it was definitely really rough for sure.”
The Red Cross is assisting the displaced residents with temporary housing.
“They got a hotel, I guess, for us for a few days, and we’re going to try to find another place to live as soon as possible,” Zachary said. “So they they gave us some, a card, I guess, to help out a little later for a few days.”
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