Family homeless after Clarksburg fire
By Meghan Foley
Posted: 12/21/2009 02:39:54 AM EST
CLARKSBURG -- A local family was left homeless after their home was heavily damaged by fire Sunday evening.
Firefighters with the Clarksburg Volunteer Fire Company were called to 38 Wheeler Ave. around 6:30 p.m., and upon arrival, found flames coming out of the attic of the single-family home owned by Keith and Barbara Worthington.
Keith Bush, safety officer for the fire company, said the fire was initially knocked down within a half hour, but the attic, roof and roof eves on the east and west sides of the house are gone.
"The rest of the house mostly sustained water damage," he said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation, and the family of four is reportedly staying with friends.
Bush said the home is definitely unlivable and will probably be condemned until the homeowners can make repairs.
Clarksburg firefighters were assisted by members of the North Adams and Stamford, Vt., fire departments.
Bush, who lives two houses down the street from the Worthingtons, was the first on the scene after one of the Worthingtons' sons called him on his cell phone.
"I was eating dinner. He said to me, 'we have a fire,' " Bush said.
He said when he got to the house, he could see flames coming out of the west side of the attic, and he then went inside to make sure the family had gotten out.
"They were trying to put out the fire with pails of water," he said.
He said he then helped the
family, whom he has known for 20 years, evacuate the house.
The below freezing temperatures and the location of the fire made it challenging for firefighters battling the blaze.
While water lines didn't freeze, the water rushing down the hill of Wheeler Avenue did.
"Everything was icing up on us. We had to keep throwing sand under guys' feet," Bush said.
In addition, it was difficult to position the pumper trucks and other equipment on the hill, he said.
To reach Meghan Foley, e-mail mfoley@thetranscript.com.
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