A two alarm fire Monday morning at the home of Jeffrey and Stephanie Earley, 3800 Great Neck Court, caused an estimated $150,000 damage and displaced the family of five.
First arriving units of Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department found heavy fire coming through the roof of the split level single family home in the Woodlawn area of Mount Vernon District, according to Captain Clayton Thompson, Kingstowne Station.
"We had to make holes in the rear roof to get at the fire which was in the attic," he explained. "It was also necessary to break some windows to allow the smoke to escape." Firefighters were prevented from attacking the fire on the left side of the house due to live power lines, Thompson noted.
Stephanie Early, who was home at the time, reported she had thrown the switch to turn on the attic exhaust fan. "I heard a loud pop and then realized I didn't hear the fan running. When I went to check I saw fire coming from the motor and the smoke alarm went off," she said.
"I grabbed the fire extinguisher but couldn't get the pin out. That's when I called 911. The fire company was here very quickly but the fire had already spread throughout the attic. Everybody should learn how to use those extinguishers before they are needed," she added.
"The fire started just before 10 a.m. I was at work and our three kids are at school. They have no idea all this is going on," Jeff Early explained as he stood with his wife on their neighbor's porch across the street. "Now we have to figure out where we are going to stay."
Their dog Polly, was sitting on the neighbor's porch with them. However, their cat, Patches, was in hiding somewhere in the neighborhood. "We know she got out okay. She's probably not too happy right about now, just like us," Jeff Earley said.
MORE THAN 50 emergency personnel from Kingstowne, Penn Daw and Mount Vernon stations responded, according to Daniel L. Schmidt, public information officer for the department. "This is a good reason to have a smoke alarm in the attic as well as on all other levels of a home," he said.
The blaze was brought under control in approximately 15 minutes. There were no reported injuries. The structure sustained substantial damage internally as well as to the front siding, which had buckled from the heat, and the rear roof area.