Fire causes $52,000 damage at local home

The occupant of a Mount Airy residence thought it was being burglarized when she heard glass breaking in the early morning hours, which instead turned out to be caused by a fire.

It resulted in damages of $52,000 on Monday at the home of Melody Allen at 134 Kizer St., located off U.S. 52-North in the Fancy Gap Road area.

The cause of the blaze was determined to be an electrical short on a rear porch.

“She was awakened by glass cracking,” Assistant Chief Chris Fallaw of the Mount Airy Fire Department said of Allen, the owner of the mobile home involved.

After realizing this was not due to a burglar, the resident was able to escape unharmed through the other side of the burning structure.

Firefighters got the alarm at 4:45 a.m. and arrived about five minutes later to find the porch area in flames. Fallaw described it as a deck-type addition to the mobile home to provide a seating area.

Mount Airy firefighters were joined by members of the Franklin and Four-Way volunteer departments through an automatic-aid pact, with 14 firefighters present altogether.

“The trailer is untenable at this time,” Fallaw said Tuesday of the fire’s aftermath. “It was a good bit of damage.”

This included $32,000 to the structure and $20,000 to contents.

The local American Red Cross was on the scene to offer temporary housing to the displaced resident.

No injuries occurred.

Battling heat

In encountering such emergencies at this time of year, Fallaw acknowledged that fire personnel must deal with the hot weather in addition to dangers from the blaze.

That is especially true during humid periods such as what is occurring this week — compounded by the heavy turnout gear that must be worn.

Fallaw said department leaders stress being prepared for this all summer long.

“You really need to stay hydrated, especially on these hot days,” he said is the key advice given. “You never know when you’re going to be called out” to a fire.

Then when on the scene, the conditions of personnel are monitored for any signs of heat exhaustion or similar issues, and they are rotated in and out with fresh firefighters as needed.