It’s a new year, but the same old story unfolded in Mount Airy when unattended cooking sparked a house fire — and though no human injuries resulted, the blaze took its toll on another form of life.
“We had four canine fatalities,” city Fire Chief Zane Poindexter said of the incident that occurred Sunday afternoon at 928 N. South St. in the vicinity of Mount Airy High School.
Along with the dogs being lost, the fire that “basically gutted” the structure resulted in damages estimated at $40,000 and displaced the homeowner, identified as Paul C. Westmoreland.
Firefighters arrived at the scene shortly before 1:45 p.m. and noted heavy smoke and flames visible from the rear of the structure, according to Poindexter.
The blaze was brought under control within 30 minutes.
“There were a lot of animals in the residence — mostly dogs,” the fire chief said of the single-story house where Westmoreland was the lone human occupant.
Among the animals saved was a small dog rescued from a bedroom closet where it had taken refuge.
“And it was well after the fire was out,” Poindexter said, explaining that the dog was discovered when Westmoreland entered the structure in an effort to salvage some of his belongings.
Damage to the house was put at $30,000 and $10,000 to its contents.
Westmoreland is being assisted with temporary housing by the American Red Cross.
Cooking culprit
With unattended cooking determined to be the cause of the blaze, Chief Poindexter said it provides further evidence of local residents needing to be more vigilant in not leaving food on hot stoves.
“As I say pretty often, it is the number one cause of fires in our city,” he reminded.
This includes ones with serious consequences — such as Sunday’s fire on North South Street — and others that are quickly extinguished as a result of smoke alarm alerts or burn themselves out while not making headlines.
All of these add up to a problem that is all too prevalent in town.
“A lot of times it doesn’t go to this extreme,” Poindexter added regarding the weekend incident — which he said not only involved cooking being left unattended but the homeowner leaving the house altogether.
The Mount Airy Fire Department was assisted by members of other local units through a mutual aid agreement, including the Franklin and Four-Way volunteer fire departments. The Mount Airy Rescue Squad also responded.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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