Wood stoves blamed for two house fires

By Paul Fallon
Times West Virginian

FAIRMONT December 24, 2008 01:39 am

— Wood stoves were the cause of two house fires near the Marion and Harrison county line.
The first fire occurred at 8:54 p.m. Monday on Odells Knob Road, said Chris McIntire, Worthington fire chief. The blaze damaged the front room of the house and the porch area, McIntire added. According to McIntire, the house is not a total loss.
“The fire probably caused around $15,000 worth of damage to the home,” he said.
McIntire noted that the fire was caused by the wood-burning stove. No injuries were reported because of the blaze.
The Worthington department responded to the blaze as did the Monongah, Farmington, Shinnston and Lumberport departments. McIntire said that the Worthington Department was on the scene about 15 minutes after receiving the call. The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes, he added.
The second fire occurred a little after midnight on Tuesday morning in Enterprise. This fire was also caused by a wood-burning stove, McIntire said. The firefighters contained the blaze to one room of the home.
McIntire said that not only was he proud of the way his firefighters fought the blaze, minimizing the property damage, he was also pleased that the responders were able to save all of the Christmas presents at each home.
“That will make it a little easier on the families,” he said.
McIntire pointed out that as winter persists and temperatures continue to drop, firefighters will see more and more structure fires caused by heating devices.
“People have to do what they have to do to stay warm,” McIntire said. “We just hope they do it safely.”
E-mail Paul Fallon at pfallon@timeswv.com.