Blaze displaces 15

View larger image No injuries were reported when fire broke out at Sandy's Manufactured Homes Court at 2044 Fairfax Pike on Tuesday. Dennis Grundman Recommend This Print This Get E-mail News Alerts Buy Photos/Page Reprints * Breaking News If local news is breaking and you know about it: * Call Us: 800-296-5137 * E-mail Us * Upload Your Photos View larger image Firefighters walk toward one of the fire-damaged mobile homes. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Three mobile homes were destroyed and one sustained some superficial damage. Dennis Grundman/Daily View larger image Firefighters battle a blaze that destroyed three mobile homes near Double Tollgate on Tuesday evening. Dennis Grundman/Daily

Three mobile homes destroyed in fire

By Alex Bridges-abridges@nvdaily.com

STEPHENS CITY -- A fire destroyed three mobile homes near town and left 15 people homeless Tuesday night, a fire official said.

No injuries were reported, according to Greg Locke, chief of the Stephens City Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company. Rescue workers did, however, take a pregnant woman who lived in one of the homes to Winchester Medical Center as a precaution, Locke said.

"Maybe through the excitement, she might have needed to go in and be checked," he said.

The Top of Virginia Chapter of the American Red Cross responded to the scene to aid those affected by the fire.

Emergency dispatchers received a call at 5:40 p.m. for a structure fire involving two residences in Sandy's Manufactured Homes Court at 2044 Fairfax Pike. Firefighters who arrived on the scene saw flames reaching approximately 40 feet into the air from trailers in lots 44 and 45, which were "fully involved," Locke said.

"With the wind conditions being what they were, by the time the first arriving units were on the scene, we actually had three [homes] involved," Locke said. "The firefighters initially did an excellent job because, with the conditions, they expected it to possibly carry further."

Little remained of the "trailer of origin" in lot 44 other than charred metal and wood. The blaze also destroyed much of the trailer next door and the home in lot 46. Flames traveled east from lot 44, according to Locke.

A home in lot 43 sustained some superficial damage but remains inhabitable, Locke said.
All four residences affected had people living in them, according to Locke, but he said he didn't know how many were home when the fire started, although the family in lot 44 was at home, Locke said. All escaped unharmed.

One of the affected families stood huddled together -- six people, including a small boy -- wrapped in blankets. At one point, a woman who lives near the court approached the family and offered to take them into her home at least temporarily.

Firefighters kept flames from spreading to lot 47, home to Cristian Gallegos and his family. He said he heard popping noises coming from the home when the fire started.

"I saw the whole family like ran out," Gallegos said, pointing to lot 44. "I was about to go out to my friend's house and they were all running out.

Frederick County Public Schools provided a bus as temporary shelter from the cold so fire marshals could interview the victims and gather information for the investigation, Locke said. Red Cross workers also came to talk to the victims and determine their housing and clothing needs, he added.

Crews had easy access to water supplies and hydrants inside the court, Locke said.
Water had already begun to freeze and turn to slush on the roads. Wind and temperature made it tough for firefighters to knock down the blaze, according to Locke.

"Whenever you're dealing with the elements, being this cold, you have susceptibility of freezing and ice and, fortunately, no one's fallen," Locke said. "But it does present challenges on access once you get some ice down."

Fire marshals with the Frederick County Fire and Rescue Department continued to investigate the cause of the blaze into the night as crews started mop-up operations to extinguish any remaining smoldering spot.

Stephens City, Middletown, Millwood Station, Clearbrook and Greenwood volunteer fire and rescue companies in Frederick County were joined by firefighters from Shawnee Station in Winchester and crews from Clarke and Warren counties.