Flames destroy downtown duplex

By Nate Delesline III

Published: January 11, 2009

A Saturday morning fire that destroyed a downtown home appears suspicious, according to authorities. 

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Emergency personnel were called to the scene at 627 E. Spencer St. around 9:30 a.m., said Wayne Sutphin, an assistant chief with the Culpeper County Volunteer Fire Department.

Sutphin said the caller reported that flames were showing throughout the entire building.

Fire officials and police say a Hispanic family apparently lived in the residence.

However, Sutphin said at the scene that although the home was clearly occupied, the residents could not be located.

No injuries were reported.

About 30 minutes after the call went out, smoldering kitchen appliances had been moved into the yard, while other firefighters used long poles to probe for hot spots in the home’s exterior.

Other workers in a ladder truck used a saw to cut a hole in the roof, venting smoke and heat and pouring water in. Firefighters also ran hoses across nearby railroad tracks, temporarily interrupting a passing train.

The fire was declared under control around 10:20 a.m. Sutphin said the two-story duplex, which sits along a narrow section of East Spencer Street behind the Depot, was a total loss.

“I have no idea at this point,” Sutphin said at the scene regarding the fire’s origin. “At this time it seems suspicious.”

He added that the fire appears to have started on the second floor and that an investigator had been summoned.

Since late November, fires have damaged or destroyed three homes, the state probation and parole office and a barn in Culpeper.

Authorities initially termed all of the fires suspicious in nature, but have not said since if another cause for the blazes has been determined.

About 30 firefighters from Culpeper, Brandy Station and Reva were on the scene of Saturday’s fire, along with Culpeper police officers and county rescue personnel.

Fire latest in series of suspicious blazes
Since November, at least four fires have damaged or destroyed buildings in Culpeper County.

All were initially termed suspicious, yet authorities have not said if further determination on the cause of any of the fires has been reached.

No serious injuries have been reported in connection with any of the incidents. The major fires include:

Nov. 24: Fire destroys the state District 26 probation and parole office at 1845 Orange Road. Authorities say the fire was already burning through the roof of the 2,500-square-foot building when they arrived minutes later.

Dec. 2: A barn at 12685 Dutch Hollow Road is destroyed by fire. Farm equipment and 1,800 bales of hay are lost.

Dec. 24: An early afternoon fire erupts at a home on Green Garden Lane, gutting the residence. The home had been listed for sale.

Dec. 28: A family of seven is displaced after their home at 20475 Orange Road burns in a morning fire. Fire officials say a cause wasn’t immediately known, while the Sheriff’s Office said the incident didn’t appear suspicious and will not be investigated.