After the Fire, a Push for Safety

Volunteers Offering Residents Inspections, Smoke Detectors

By Arianne Aryanpur (Contact)

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Members of Loudoun County's volunteer fire companies went door-to-door through a Leesburg neighborhood Thursday, providing safety tips to residents 11 days after a house fire that injured six firefighters.

The May 25 blaze, caused by a cigarette thrown on the deck, resulted in $600,000 in damage to a house on Meadowood Court and melted the siding on adjacent houses. One of the injured firefighters remained in serious but stable condition Friday at the Washington Hospital Center Burn Center, fire department spokeswoman Mary Maguire said.

During Thursday evening's outreach effort, about a dozen firefighters from the Leesburg, Ashburn and Loudoun companies visited 73 houses in the area where the fire occurred. Over the course of 261/27 hours, they delivered informational pamphlets and offered to return later to conduct free safety inspections and install smoke detectors.

"Any time there's a fire, we're concerned that something on the prevention side failed," Chief Fire Marshal Keith Brower said.

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Fires Cause Major Damages, Injuries

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Six firefighters were injured while putting out an accidental fire on Meadowood Court in Leesburg. The fire caused $600,000 in damages. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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An accidental fire on May 25 caused $600,000 damage to a house on Meadowood Court in Leesburg. Six firefighters were injured. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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A room above the garage of a house on Meadowodd Court in Leesburg after it caught fire. The accidental fire cause $600,000 in damage. Six firefighters were injured when putting out the blaze. (Tracy A. Woodward)

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An accidental fire on Tuesday caused $70,000 to $100,000 in damage to the Hillsboro Community Center. The non-profit Hillsboro Community Association is seeking donations to help with rebuilding. The building, originally a school house, has burn damage on right side including six 1870s-era windows with hand-carved wooden frames. (Susan Biddle)

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Loudoun fire officials said they handled six fires within an eight-day period last month, an unusually high number. Brower said it is unclear what caused the spike or why there were relatively few fires in the preceding months. The number generally peaks between October and March, when people use fireplaces and heating devices.

"This year, it wasn't like that," Brower said. "That's just the way the ball bounces."

Officials conducted a similar door-to-door safety campaign in March after two house fires occurred within eight days of each other on the same block of Bayswater Terrace in Sterling. After the fires, many residents contacted the department with questions, Brower said.

"Any time there's a big fire in the community, the public wants information. They wonder if there's something inherently wrong with their home," he said.

Most house fires can be prevented by taking simple precautions such as reducing unnecessary clutter, storing flammable liquids in proper containers and making sure that boxes and other materials are not stored near electrical panels or water heaters, Brower said. Officials also recommend creating a fire escape plan and installing functioning smoke detectors on every floor.

Volunteers will return to three of the houses visited Thursday to install free smoke detectors and will conduct safety inspections at two other houses, following up on residents' requests.

Residents who live outside the area visited Thursday but who are interested in learning more about fire safety and prevention can contact the department through the e-mail prompt at www.loudoun.gov/fire. Officials said volunteers will conduct safety inspections and install smoke detectors for anyone who requests them.

Tagged: Fire, Fire Department, firefighters, Leesburg

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