Accidental Fire Hits

Curry Drive Home

By Andrew Gorosko

About 45 town volunteer firefighters responded on the cold night of Thursday, February 15, to a house fire at 7 Curry Drive, where a blaze, which apparently started inside a woodshed, damaged a single-family house that was occupied by five people at the time, fire officials said.

Fire Marshal Bill Halstead estimated that the accidental fire caused more than $50,000 of damage to the wood-frame, two-story structure that is the Piskura residence. There were no injuries in the blaze.

Curry Drive is a dead-end street that extends from the west side of Currituck Road, near Academy Lane.

Newtown Hook & Ladder First Assistant Fire Chief Mike McCarthy, who was the incident commander, said that firefighters from all five local fire companies responded to the blaze.

Firefighters used water from a hydrant located near Currituck Road to put out the fire. They ran that hose about 250 feet through an adjacent snow-covered residential lot to reach the blaze.

Mr Halstead said that the fire apparently started after some wood ashes, which had been left in a five-gallon plastic pail within a woodshed next to the house, ignited and caused the plastic pail to melt and catch fire. That fire spread from the woodshed to the rear of the house.

Following an inspection at the site on the morning of Friday, February 16, Mr Halstead said the blaze damaged second-story rooms in the house as well as the roof. The fire found its way into the house’s walls as well as the attic.

The fire caused heavy damage to the rear of the building and moderate damage overall to the house. The building is insured for damage.

At the time of the fire, a mother, father, daughter, and two grandchildren were inside the house, Mr Halstead said. One of the grandchildren noticed a glow in the woodshed and then alerted others in the house of the 10:54 pm blaze, after which firefighters were called, Mr Halstead said.

Asst Chief McCarthy said it was not difficult to put out the blaze after firefighters arrived at the scene. Firefighters determined that the best way to get sufficient water to the fire was to extend a hose from a hydrant near Currituck Road and through a residential yard to the fire.

“All the guys worked really well together,” Asst Chief McCarthy said of firefighters’ cooperation at the scene.

The February 15 Curry Drive fire was the latest in a string of recent house fires that have hit homes on Huntingtown Road, Mile Hill Road South, and Tanglewood Lane.