*Family escapes burning house in Strasburg

James Callahan comforts his wife Angie as smoke pours from an upstairs bedroom at their residence at 410 N. Massanutten St. in Strasburg on Monday morning. Rich Cooley/Daily

By Amber Marra -- amarra@nvdaily.com

STRASBURG -- Emergency officials responded to a house fire at 410 N. Massanutten St. Monday morning that shut down U.S. 11 between Crystal Lane and Va. 55.

Around 9 a.m. a fire started on the second floor of the two-story house occupied by five people.

James Callahan, 35, said that his parents own the house and that the fire started in his room due to an overloaded electrical outlet.

Callahan, along with his wife; friend; mother; father; and five dogs, all escaped the house before the top floor became engulfed in flames.

After the fire, he was still concerned about the safety of the family's three cats, which he did not think survived.

Emergency officials from Strasburg, Middletown, Toms Brook, and Shenandoah County Fire and Rescue all responded to the fire, according to Strasburg Firefighter Tom Frazier.

The road was reopened at about 11:40 a.m.

For further developments, visit nvdaily.com or read the print edition of The Northern Shenandoah Valley.