Man escapes out of window from trailer fire
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on January 2, 2007 1:50 PM
A Wayne County man barely escaped through the window of a mobile home after a fire started in his home at about 6 a.m. today.
The fire, which occurred at the 100 block of Covey Drive in the Quail Valley subdivision off Beston Road, caused $8,000 in damage -- mostly while a man in his 20s was still inside, New Hope Fire Capt. Jason Gray said.
When the New Hope Volunteer Fire Department received the 911 call this morning, emergency personnel told firefighters a man and his sister were in the mobile home when the fire began. The woman awakened, but she said she couldn't wake up her brother as the fire began to spread, Gray said.
Before firefighters from the New Hope, Pinewood and Saulston departments arrived on the scene, Gray said the man escaped from the fire by jumping out of a window. The man, whose name was unknown, received minor cuts on his arm and was treated on the scene.
Emergency personnel said they were unsure why the man did not initially wake up when the fire started.
"I think he was celebrating New Year's right on (through), but he woke up and got out of there," former New Hope Chief Roland "Bud" Gray said after leaving the scene this morning.
The mobile home, owned by Debra Ward and valued at $16,000, had smoke damage throughout the house. Capt. Gray said the fire was caused by unattended cooking. Most of the damage was in the kitchen, he added.
Residents of the mobile home said the house had smoke detectors, but the devices were not activated. Gray said residents should check the batteries in their smoke detectors.
"You definitely don't want your house to burn down," he said. "Especially with you in it."
New Hope firefighters said they also responded to a blaze at 182 Parkstown Road this morning.
The structure, which was owned by the N.C. Department of Transporta-tion, sustained $20,000 in damage. The fire broke out at about 7:30 a.m.
Wayne County Sheriff's Department investigators are looking into the cause of the fire, which they believe is the result of a break-in and arson.