Electrician Injured Friday in Fire at Springfield Home
Wind gusts Friday add to difficulty for firefighters battling blaze. Two dogs, two cats missing and presumed dead from the fire.
Photos
An electrician was sent to the Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center Friday afternoon after a circuit breaker he was working on exploded at a home on Morning Dew Court in Springfield. The extent of his injuries was not known.
Firefighters from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue were called to the home at around 2:15 p.m. Friday, said Captain William Moreland. When firefighters arrived they found the home engulfed in flames.
"The fire took a good 30 minutes to get under control," he said. "Wind conditions made it more difficult to extinguish the fire." The National Weather Service predicted wind gusts up to 35 MPH Friday for Springfield.
According to fire officials, the electrician, from Kolb Electric whose name was not immediately available, was the only injury at the fire. The owner of the home, Maria Ramserran, said the electrician was working at the home because "we did not have any electricity."
"We didn't have any heat last night," said Ramserran. "It was so cold and my husband took off of work [Friday] to meet the electrician. And then I get a call at work that my house is on fire. Aye, aye, aye." Temperatures Thursday night were below freezing after a cold front moved into Northern Virginia.
The electrician and Lawrence Ramserran went over and knocked on neighbor Jeff Welch's door to call 911 after electric work apparently led to an explosion.
"The electrician told me he pulled something from the circuit breaker, it exploded, and that's what started the fire," Welch said. The circuit breaker was in the basement.
"He [the electrician] looked like he was sunburned around the shadows of his eyes," he said.
The Ramserrans and their son were displaced by the fire and plan to spend Friday night at a hotel. Fire officials said the home was a total loss.
Ramserran said she also fosters rescue dogs at "A Forever Home" in Chantilly. She said two dogs and two cats are missing and presumed dead. Four other dogs she is fostering were in the backyard of a neighbor's house, she said.
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Terry
6:09 am on Saturday, February 2, 2013
To me this is not surprising. The state of the recent cookie cutter houses were they built to the poorest standards.
Sally Spangler
10:58 am on Saturday, February 2, 2013
Terry - From the look of the front of the house - I would say it had been built in the early 1960s. We bought a house in 1962, which except for the front door being on the right instead of the left, looked almost exactly like ours. The builder/developer built a number of homes like the one pictured. All of them had major construction problems. The builder had no real idea of what a good, well built house should be built. He chose the cheapest materials hiring men who evidently knew as little as he did about home construction. The family was lucky they at lest have some (I hope) insurance on their home, enough to rebuild it, if they so choose.
Jessica
11:22 am on Saturday, February 2, 2013
FYI...the houses on that street were built in 1980/1981.
Sally Spangler
3:00 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
Thank you, Jessica, I thought the front of the house shown looked very much like mine, built in 1961.
imagineer
7:28 pm on Saturday, February 2, 2013
Homes on that street were built as low cost housing. The were required to be built by Fairfax County.
Richie Rich
11:46 am on Monday, February 4, 2013
Wow, Low cost housing in FFX county is pretty expensive.
http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/8296-Morning-Dew-Ct-Springfield-VA-22153/51968806_zpid/
Ashley
11:56 am on Monday, February 4, 2013
We rent in the neighborhood and it's really expensive. Especially after knowing that the electrical work is shoddy.
Sally Spangler
12:03 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013
Considering I build my brick home in 1967 for $38,000 - 4 bedrooms, 2 full baths, living room, family room, kitchen, dining room, full basement (unfinished, now partically finished) 2 car garage under one corner of house, on a half acre lot. County now appraises total at excess of $400,000. The county is to blame for appraising homes for far more than its original cost just to make money. Appraisals go up more each year and with that the tax itself has hidden features, like adding pest control - originally for Gpysy moths, not sprayed anywhere in county for over ten years and storm water whatever they call it. The cost is not revealed until the bill arrives at the owner's home in July and December. The tax is stated in July as one thing and then the two extra taxes are stated when the bill arrives. Phooey on Fairfax County!!!!
gus
8:51 pm on Monday, February 4, 2013
Lets not get off topic here, remember this article is about a tragic event that has happened in our community and not about the property value of our homes. Even if the houses were built as low cost, the fact that a family has lost everything they've owned memories cant be replaced with money, so think before posting monetary figures.
K Lee
9:59 am on Tuesday, February 5, 2013
Yes, it is a tragic event. I have worked with Laurence, the owner, for 20 years, you couldn't meet a nicer guy. I feel sorry for him and his family. They are lucky that no one from the family was hurt. He has two college age boys that he is trying to put through school. He hasn't been back to work yet. I heard they are living in a hotel. In fires like this, so many personal belongings are lost that cannot be replaced. I wonder if the electrician made some kind of mistake when he was working on the circuit breaker. Never heard of a fuse box exploding. Perhaps the cause of the fire was not faulty wiring but the fault of the electrician fixing the fuse box.