Two Homes burnt

Two homes burnt just a little bit ago in the Regency one totally to the ground the second looks like a complete loss and a third substained damage. One of them burnt last spring.

More news as it comes in.

Lee J Buividas

 

Must have been that heavy smoke I saw this morning! That is so sad. Are you saying one of the houses is one of the same that burned last spring?

 

My husband and I noticed the smoke and saw the flames this morning on the way to work around 9:15am. We passed one firetruck and then as we crossed over 28, three more trucks passed. The sky was so clear you could see the column of smoke from on top of the Waxpool/Church Rd. overpass.

Anything more? I hope everyone is safe.

 

The truly bizarre part is that the home which "blew up" from a supposedly gas leak is the very same house that caught fire many months back.

One of the houses just finished getting their final repairs done from the previous fire!

 

story: http://www.leesburg2day.com/current.cfm?catid=6&newsid=11065

 

Does anyone know the cause of the fire? I was just curious. Someone mentioned gas leak but I hadn't read that. Thanks.

 

THe latest from one of the neighbors is the compressor or generator while the workmen were rebuilding one of the homes from the first fire exploded and caught the home on fire it spread so fast the second home caught on fire then a third home had some damage from the fire. They said the fire spread so quickly it was unbelievable even while the fire dept was there. I understand the fire dept was there in minutes as there is a fire station right across from the back of MCI and is right across from the Regency too. The fire station could not be any closer unless it was in the Regency itself. Several years ago I saw a TV show on house fires and the lesson there was it is truly unbelievable how fast a fire can spread thru a home. Rooms can explode into flames instantly when looking for Oxygen.

Lee J Buividas

 

Thanks for the update, Lee. The whole thing is so sad.

 

The house did not "blow up" from a gas leak (like the natural gas leak that did blow up a house a few years ago in South Riding).

I got this comment directly from the Fire Department Batallion Chief.
The generator (a faulty, rickety old and unkept generator)threw an electrical spark which lit the 5 gallon can of gasoline located right next to the genarator on fire. That 5 gallon gasoline can is what blew up and ultimately spread the fire so quickly.

Comments from the neighbors we along the lines of this is the result of a "low budget" repair company.

The fire department must be doing some kind of continueing investigation (mayby arson related but that is just a personal opinion) because they visit the two homes daily.

 

Nobody said the home blew up like the one in south riding you only clarified a bit more to what I said.
I doubt there was any arson.

Saying the repairs is being done by a low budget repair company like that was the problem is unfounded.

Unless you are a qualified building inspector or a professional in the building business I would be very careful with statements like that.

The fire department always visits the site of recent fires on many occasions in cases like this; this does not mean it is any kind of arson that is spreading rumors even if it is just your opinion. I know the people several doors down who know the people that lost their home so be careful about using the words arson and low budget Repair Company!! The fire dept visited the first home that caught on fire the first time many times and it was immediately known as an accident by one of their children.

More then likely this is another accident just as you described without all the embellishment.

Lee J Buividas

 

One more thing everyone should make sure their insurance is up to date to cover a loss such as a fire. Especially with the rapidly rising housing prices in the last couple of years. It is very easy to overlook.

Lee J Buividas

 

newsy was quoting someone else, so don't jump on them for being the messenger. Anyways, if the situation they said was true, I wonder how/why they had a generator so close (or inside) the house in the first place.

 

That's good advice but also remember the cost of rebuilding a house does not necessarily rise with the value of a house. A house that sold for $500,000 two years ago now sells for $700,000 but I don't think the cost of rebuilding the structure has increased by the same proportion. Plus part of that value is in the land. In other words, yes keep insurance up to date but I always make sure the policy states it will cover the full replacement cost not just a dollar amount.