Pastor, family temporarily displaced by blaze

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No estimate on total damage yet, chief believes house on Martinsburg Pike is salvageable

By Candace Sipos -- csipos@nvdaily.com

WINCHESTER -- Juanita Smith is still smiling, despite coming home to a house filled with smoke Tuesday evening.

"Faith is something you can never lose," she said, standing outside her Frederick County home at 2720 Martinsburg Pike, which is linked to the parking lot of Emmanuel United Methodist Church, where her husband, Jim, is the pastor.

The brick rancher looked relatively similar to its former self, but with piles of ash, mud and housing material and black soot lining the roof, with a gaping hole on one side.
Mrs. Smith and her 6-year-old son, Ean, came home from an open house at his school Tuesday to dozens of firemen dousing the home with water.

"He was worried about his toys and worried about his dad getting injured, so we prayed the whole way getting here," Mrs. Smith said about her son, whose father had been next door at the church when the fire broke out. Smith has been the pastor at the small church for the past four years.

The Smiths' neighbors, Donald and Kim Cook, called police right after 7 p.m. when they noticed the smoke.

Crews from six county fire and rescue companies, the city and Berkeley County, W.Va. helped to control the fire within about 15 minutes, according to Clear Brook Volunteer Fire and Rescue Company's Chief Tommy Price. The last firefighters on scene returned to their stations around 11 p.m., he said.

There was smoke coming from the back and side of the house when they first arrived to the scene, but they were able to contain it to the kitchen, he said, noting that there was water and smoke damage throughout the entire home. Price said the cause of the fire is still under investigation by fire marshals, but he's sure it was accidental. Mrs. Smith said it was a kitchen fire.

Although Price does not have an estimate on the total financial damage to the home and belongings, he said the house is salvageable. The Smiths plan on being out of the home for at least the next two months and are staying with friends in Clear3Brook, Mrs. Smith said, adding that she is in the process of talking to the insurance about the parsonage.
She said she hadn't heard from the American Red Cross as of early Wednesday afternoon.

There were no injuries to any victims or firefighters.