Fire guts house; 2 escape
By Jack Stephens
Published in News on March 31, 2005 1:50 PM
Two men escaped injury when a house on Arrington Bridge Road caught fire early today and burned to the ground.
"It was a pretty hot night -- like an oven," said Arrington Volunteer Fire Chief Randy Rogers.
Rogers said two unidentified Hispanic men were living in the rental home in the 2900 block of Arrington Bridge Road when it caught fire shortly after midnight.
Bobby Williams photo
Firefighters from Arrington and Indian Springs departments battle a house fire this morning.
"One woke up, saw smoke, woke up his partner and toted him outside," Rogers said.
A passer by saw the flames and reported it on a cell phone. Arrington and Indian Springs firefighters responded to the call. But by the time they arrived, the single-story structure was engulfed in flames.
"It went unreported for a while," Rogers said. "The only phone in the house burned up. It got a good start on us. The first portable was on the scene in a minute, and fire was coming out every window."
Rogers attributed the cause of the fire to electrical problems.
"They had homemade wiring everywhere," he said.
Rogers said the home was built of cinderblock, with a wood covering. He said that he was still trying to determine the owner's name. The occupants, who spoke little English, said a man named Simmons collected their rent money.
Nine Arrington firefighters answered the 12:20 a.m. call with three trucks, and Indian Springs assisted with about 12 firefighters and four units. They remained until about 4 a.m. to put out the fire, investigate the cause and finish salvage work.
Three mobile homes on the same property behind the home were not damaged.