Heather Curtis
WMAL.com
WASHINGTON (WMAL) – An early morning fire at a home in Annandale, Virginia killed an elderly man New Year’s Day.
The Fairfax County Fire Department was called around 4:20 Monday morning for a fire at a home on Columbia Road. The two-alarm fire was extinguished in about 15 minutes.
When firefighters searched the home, they found the body of 94-year-old Lewis C. Spessard. A woman had gotten out safely.
“We hated to report that the first of the year and having someone die in a house fire like that is sad news for us,” said Fairfax County Fire Department spokesperson Willie Bailey.
Due to the extreme cold, firefighters had to be rotated in and out quickly. A total of 60 firefighters, including ones from the City of Alexandria Fire Department, helped out at the scene.
The Virginia Department of Transportation sanded the road to prevent water used to extinguish the fire from freezing and causing accidents.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
While they don’t yet know the cause of this fire, Bailey said there have been several fires in the county in the past week caused by ashes from fireplaces that weren’t properly discarded. Bailey said never throw old ashes in plastic or paper bags. He cautions that ashes can start fires three to four days after they have been removed from a fireplace.
Copyright 2018 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Fairfax County Fire Department)
