Investigators Believe Fire That Killed 3 Was Accidental

By WYDaily Staff Tuesday, January 11, 2011

The James City County Fire Marshal's Office and James City County police will resume their joint investigation Wednesday morning into the cause of an early morning fire Tuesday that killed three adults and injured another.

The investigation was suspended mid-afternoon Tuesday after being hampered by a high degree of interior fire damage to the cinderblock and stucco home and structural instability the fire created, a fire department spokesman said.

Before stopping for the day, investigators tentatively identified where the fire started: a room generally located in the middle of the house on the first floor. So far, investigators don't know what caused the fire but a spokesman said nothing points to a cause other than accidental.

More than 30 rescue workers were called to a two-story, single-family home at 101 Woodside Drive, off the 8600 block of Pocahontas Trail in Grove, around 1:30 a.m.

James City County Fire Department District Chief Bob Ryalls said callers reported that several people were in the home and unable to escape from the second floor.

Among the first to respond were two James City County police officers, Senior Officer Zach Bowman and Officer Meko Calderin. They were credited with helping the lone survivor with his escape from a second floor window as heavy smoke and fire billowed from the home.

Firefighters immediately entered the house to rescue the others trapped on the second floor. They found one man unconscious in the kitchen area at the top of a staircase; when firefighters brought the man outdoors they realized he was dead.

When crews returned to the top of the stairs they discovered a portion of the second floor had collapsed, preventing any further searches using the home's interior staircase. All subsequent searches, Ryalls said, had to be conducted by looking into the home from outside ladders propped against the smoldering home.

The fire continued to "flare up at various intervals," Ryalls said, but was finally brought under control at 4:15 a.m.

Rescue workers continued to search for the two missing residents, a man and woman, reportedly in the house when fire broke out. Ryalls said their bodies were found and removed from the home's second floor around 10 a.m.

All three victims were taken to the Richmond Medical Examiner's office where their identities will be confirmed and cause of death likely determined.

Ten fire and EMS units from the James City and York county and City of Williamsburg departments were on site. Firefighters from the Yorktown Naval Weapons Station department provided coverage for the southern end of James City throughout the incident.