A fire at a Mount Airy residence displaced its three occupants, included a retired Realtor who suffered a possible fracture during the evacuation, and caused more than $100,000 in damages.
The cooking-related incident happened around noon Sunday at 667 Knollwood Drive, site of a one-story brick structure with a downstairs apartment. The occupants of the upstairs portion were identified as Louise Taylor, the former Realtor, and her sister, whose full name was unavailable, with Doug Taylor, no relation, residing in the apartment.
After an alarm was received at 12:10 p.m., members of the Mount Airy Fire Department responded within three minutes.
Smoke and flames were visible from the structure located in the vicinity of Mount Airy Country Club, where city firefighters were joined by personnel from the Franklin and Four-Way volunteer fire departments. They are part of a new automatic aid agreement with the MAFD.
In addition to the three residents of the structure, Tangela Stewart, a nurse with Home Instead — a provider of in-home services to seniors — was present when the blaze began.
Mount Airy Fire Chief Zane Poindexter credits the nurse and Doug Taylor with initial efforts to extricate Louise Taylor, who is in her 90s, and her sister from the burning residence until later assisted by firefighters.
“They are to be commended for their efforts,” Poindexter said Tuesday.
During the evacuation, however, Louise Taylor was injured.
“Mrs. Taylor was taken via ambulance to the hospital to check on a possible leg fracture,” the fire chief said, adding that a lower leg was involved. He was unclear Tuesday how the injury occurred.
A medical update was unavailable Tuesday on the victim transported to Northern Regional Hospital. No other injuries were reported from the incident, including among the 30 firefighters of the three departments who responded — equipped with six pieces of apparatus.
It caused structural damages estimated at $85,000 and damage to contents put at $20,000.
“Very, very significant damage” occurred, in the words of the fire chief.
The local chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting those displaced with temporary housing.
Cooking fires prevalent
Sunday’s fire was sparked by an all-too-frequent cause, a department investigation showed.
“There was just some unattended cooking left on a stove in the downstairs apartment,” Poindexter said.
That is among the top two causes of fires in the city limits, the chief added, rivaled only by those originating from a heating source.
Issuing warnings to the public about cooking-related blazes is an ongoing mission of the Mount Airy Fire Department.
“One of our slogans that we use is ‘Watch What You Cook,’” Poindexter said.
Source: https://www.mtairynews.com
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