A fire on Meandering Lane in the Burkes Mill Pond subdivision last Thursday caused extensive fire and smoke damage to the kitchen and smoke damage throughout the home.
Gloucester Volunteer Fire and Rescue Squad Chief J.D. Clements said the fire occurred around 11:40 a.m. Thursday, after the electricity, which had gone out during Wednesday’s storm, came back on. The homeowner was unaware that she had left the stove on when the electricity went out, he said, and when it was restored, the food she had been cooking ignited.
The homeowner was in the bedroom when the smoke alarm went off, said Clements, and she barricaded herself in there and called for help. Deputies arrived on the scene first and were able to get the dogs out the back door, he said, but they couldn’t find the homeowner.
When the medic unit arrived from Station 1, Lt. Jeffrey Grigsby donned his protective gear, entered the home, and located the homeowner, said Clements. The smoke was so bad that he shared his air supply with the homeowner as he broke a window to escape. Both Lt. Grigsby and the homeowner suffered from smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital, said Clements. Grigsby additionally had a cut on his hand from glass.
Clements said 16 or 17 personnel from GVFRS responded to the scene with three engines, a medic unit and a rescue truck. In addition, Mathews Volunteer Fire Department and Mathews Volunteer Rescue Squad responded with an engine, a tanker, a medic unit, and another eight to 10 personnel. MVRS transported Grigsby to the hospital. Multiple law enforcement officers with the Gloucester Sheriff’s Office and Virginia State Police responded to the scene, as well.
Trash truck fire
Clements said not long after the structure fire cleared at 1:46 p.m., the squad received another call, this one for a trash truck that had a load that caught fire. The truck, owned by Ambrose Disposal, was headed down Route 198 in Gloucester when the contents of the load caught fire, he said. The driver stopped at an unused parking lot at Harcum and dumped the load, then called for assistance. Once the fire department put out the fire, said Clements, Ambrose returned and picked up the load.
