Martinsville Bulletin, Inc.
P. O. Box 3711
204 Broad Street
Martinsville, Virginia 24115
276-638-8801
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Firemen from Martinsville and Ridgeway Volunteer Fire Department battle a blaze at 705 Carter Street in the City. (Bulletin photo by Mike Wray) |
Friday, August 21, 2009
By AMANDA BUCK - Bulletin Staff Writer
Fire engulfed a home Thursday on Carter Street in Martinsville.
The fire, which was reported at 8:16 p.m., apparently began in a laundry room on the side of the two-story, wood frame home at 705 Carter St., said city spokesman Scott Coleman. Two of the three adults who live in the house were home at the time, but no one was injured, he said.
The residents are Trevor Shelton, 41; Roberta Gravely, 50; and Gravely’s daughter, Lacrisha Gravely, 27.
One of the women was in the kitchen cooking when she noticed the fire, Coleman said. When she yelled “Fire,” Shelton, who was outside preparing food on a grill, ran around the side of the house “and realized the whole (laundry) room was on fire,” Coleman said.
“He thought about trying to extinguish it briefly and decided that probably wasn’t a good idea,” Coleman said. “It started spreading very rapidly throughout the home. ... By the time they got out, it was pretty much fully involved.”
The Martinsville Fire Department, Ridgeway and Collinsville volunteer fire departments, Henry County Public Safety and Stone Ambulance responded. Firefighters had the blaze under control within about 20 minutes, Coleman said.
“Thankfully, nobody was injured,” he said, “but there was very extensive damage to the home. I don’t know if it will be rebuildable.”
Fire damage reached throughout the first floor, and smoke damage affected the entire structure, he said.
The laundry room was an attached addition to the house. Coleman estimated that the house, which is owned by Sonja Eaton, was probably at least 50 years old, if not older.
The residents were renters, he added.
A damage estimate was not available late Thursday, but Coleman said it certainly would reach into the “tens of thousands.”
Martinsville Fire Marshal Ted Anderson was beginning an investigation late Thursday and planned to continue it today, Coleman said.
“We’re not 100 percent sure, but all indicators point to (the washer and dryer) being the area of origin,” Coleman said. “ ... It doesn’t appear to be suspicious.”
The American Red Cross was on scene to assist the residents, he said. |
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