Fire heavily damages James City County home

JAMES CITY COUNTY

Two people suffered minor injuries Tuesday morning in a fire that caused heavy damage to a single-wide mobile home on the eastern end of the county.

Bob Ryalls, of the James City County Fire Department, said the fire occurred on Wallace Road, near Merrimac Trail, at about 8:20 a.m. when a candle burning on a table near some bedding materials caught fire.

A man tried to put the fire out, but the clothes he used to beat at the flames caught fire, Ryalls said. The fire quickly got out of control and both people escaped with minor injuries. Both also refused treatment, he said.

Flames and smoke were visible from three sides of the building when firefighters arrived on the scene. The fire was under control shortly before 9 a.m. and crews were released from the scene at about 10 a.m.

The fire marshal has determined the fire to be accidental, a news release from Ryalls said. It also said that there were two smoke detectors in the home that did not have batteries, making them inoperable during the fire.

The American Red Cross was at the scene to assist the two who were displaced from their home.