A home on Virginia 8, across from the Shooter’s Pawn Shop, caught fire early on Thursday, May 25.
Stuart Volunteer Fire Department Capt. Jonathan Wilson said the department received the call at 4:55 a.m. with the department dispatched at 5:07 a.m.
“It was a garage-type structure, where the upstairs was used as a living quarters. Once we got on scene, it looked like the flames were coming from the back side, the back right corner, of the building,” he said.
Wilson said the fire progressed from the back of the building onto the top of a panel van, where it progressed through the top layer, which eventually went through the roof of the building.
“The residents that were there were out of the building at the time we got there. We did go ahead and do fire suppression on the exterior and interior of the building,” he said.
Wilson said the department left the scene at 8:14 a.m. It took 186 minutes, or around two hours, to put the fire out.
About 25 people were on the scene in total, including 10 firefighters from Stuart.
Patrick Springs Volunteer Fire Department had about seven people on scene and Moorefield Store Volunteer Fire Department had three. The Francisco and Lawsonville volunteer fire departments in North Carolina each sent two people to assist.
CCDF Volunteer Fire Department, Station 3, and Station 8 also sent personnel to the scene.
“It did take everyone working together to knock this fire down,” he said.
Wilson said the cause of the fire is still under investigation by the Patrick County Sheriff’s Office.