Family saved from blaze
By John Joyce
Published in News on November 9, 2015 1:46 PM
Three Wayne County Sheriff's deputies were first to arrive on scene at a mobile home fire at 101 Cambria Lane at 6:40 a.m. Sunday.
Two residents were trapped inside and could not escape by their own means, according to a sheriff's report.
The deputies and two firefighters from the Belfast Volunteer Fire Department pulled both victims to safety through a window, as smoke and fire engulfed the home.
The two victims, Monica Townsend and Jay Maye, both in their 50s, were treated immediately by Wayne County EMS and then taken to the hospital for further care.
"There (was) some smoke inhalation, it appears." Wayne County Sheriff Larry Pierce said.
The deputies -- D-Shift patrol deputies Daniel Garrett, Travis Cox and Cody Bechel -- arrived on scene and saw Ms. Townsend screaming for help from a back window. The three deputies and two firemen, "without thought to their own safety," pulled both victims from the blaze, the report said. The firefighters were later identified as Hunter Britt and Nathan Murphy.
Belfast and Pikeville-Pleasant Grove fire departments worked to extinguish the blaze, and a thorough investigation followed.
"It appears to have been accidental causes," Capt. Richard Lewis said. Lewis is both the captain in charge of the Sheriff's Office investigations division and a volunteer firefighter with Pikeville-Pleasant Grove.
"When I left they were looking at the TV as the source, but I can't say for certain that is where the fire started," he said.