Awakened just in time

View larger image Keith White, left, and his father Charles Lafollette, right, sift through the remains of his home that was destroyed by fire late Tuesday night at 3306 Swover Creek Road west of Edinburg. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Drucilla Jett, of Woodstock, lays a group of family photos that were salvaged from her daughter’s home after a fire broke out late Tuesday night. Drucilla’s daughter, Jessica and her husband lost their home and belongings. Rich Cooley/Daily View larger image Charles and Jessica Lafollette stand outside their Swover Creek Road home that was gutted by fire late Tuesday night. Rich Cooley/Daily

Loud noise saves man's life as house goes up in flames

By Kaitlin Mayhew -- kmayhew@nvdaily.com

EDINBURG -- Charlie Lafollette was awoken by a loud thud late Tuesday night.

"It sounded like something had fallen," he said.

He never found out exactly what made the noise, but whatever it was saved his life.

Now awake, Lafollette walked out into his living room to see smoke filling the room.

He said he reached for the light switch, only to discover the electricity was out.

Upon exiting to the back porch, he discovered his home was fully ablaze. He then ran outside, barefoot, and used the cellphone that he'd left in his truck to call the fire department at around 11:45 p.m.

Luckily for the couple, Lafollette's wife, Jessica, was away visiting a friend for the night.

Shenandoah County Fire and Rescue Department Chief Gary Yew said he is pretty confident the fire began in a chimney that was connected to a wood stove used for heating the home.

However, he said it has not been determined exactly how the fire began.

"It's always hard to tell with the chimney," Yew said. "It could have been a weak mortar joint or a cracked flue liner. It could have been a number of things."

The fire was one of two that devastated log homes in the area within 24 hours.
Lafollette said that, in hindsight, the fire department arrived quickly, although it didn't seem like it at the time.

"It seemed like forever," he said. "But I know it wasn't that long. They did a really good job."

Yew said it took firefighters around three hours to extinguish the blaze, mostly because of the additions to the almost 100-year-old log structure.

"Log homes are inherently hard to get control of, and when you have additions it gets hard to get to the fire sometimes," he said. "This one was a little stubborn."

Lafollette lived in the home at 3036 Swover Creek Road for 21 years. He shares the almost 4-acre property with a number of animals, including goats, dogs and chickens.

The only resident who didn't make it out of the blaze was the cat that Lafollette said he'd had almost as long as he'd lived in the home.

"It was the smoke that got her," Mrs. Lafollette said.

They found the cat's body still lying on her favorite towel after the blaze was out. They buried the beloved cat Wednesday afternoon.

The Red Cross is assisting the Lafollette, setting up a line of credit for them. Lafollette said they also offered him motel vouchers, but that he plans to stay with his son in Jerome.

He said he's received much help from the community already, including neighbors coming by to give him clothing and donations.

Partially burned photographs were laid out on the hoods of cars, and along the ground of the property, marking some of the only possessions that the Lafollette have been able to salvage.

He said he was also able to retrieve his guns and tools from the wreckage.

The rest was destroyed.

The other fire, at 740 Knupp Road, was in a large two-story structure near Forestville.

Yew said the cause of the fire was never determined, although it was accidental. The occupants, a family of five, were home when the fire started. The alarm came in at 4:27 a.m. and the home was fully involved by the time the fire department arrived. The blaze took several hours to extinguish, Yew said. The Red Cross is assisting the family with housing.