UPDATE: Sunday, 7/7/2015, 1 p.m. — Improperly disposed fireworks were determined to be the cause of the fire, that resulted in $700,000 in damages, according to the Loudoun County Fire Marshal’s Office. The fireworks were not properly extinguished, and were placed in the garage. The fire quickly spread to the rest of the home.
EARLIER: Sunday, 7/7/2015, 9:41 a.m. — ALDIE, Va. – A three-story townhouse in the Stone Ridge neighborhood of Loudoun County was severely damaged in a July Fourth fire.
Investigators are looking into the possibility that fireworks started the blaze.
When firefighters from Dulles South fire station 19 arrived at approximately 11 p.m. the townhome, was engulfed in flames.
“Heavy fire was showing on all three levels,” says Assistant Chief Keith Johnson, of Loudoun County Fire and Rescue.
A second alarm was quickly sounded, bringing fire units from surrounding jurisdictions to the Stone Ridge community, which is located near Loudoun County Parkway and Braddock Road. Fire trucks and ambulances clogged several blocks of the neighborhood.
Nobody was seriously injured, says Johnson. A firefighter was treated on the scene.
The fire was extinguished on all three levels by midnight, but crews continued to douse hot spots.
While fireworks had been shot off in the neighborhood, Johnson says it is too early to determine the cause of the fire.
“The fire marshal is conducting an arson and cause investigation,” says Johnson.
Despite the intensity of the blaze, fire from the home, located toward the center of a strip of townhouses, did not spread to neighboring homes.
“Our primary objective was to keep it from the other occupancies,” says Johnson. “They had light smoke in both of the exposures, but no fire.”
Residents in the home that caught fire, and the ones on either side were displaced Saturday evening.
Board of Supervisors Matt Letournau, who represents the Dulles District, watching the firefighting effort, marveled that the fire was contained.
Loudoun County firefighters with 2-alarm fire on Sodalite Square in Stoneridge. pic.twitter.com/V3mdooT1d3
— Neal Augenstein (@AugensteinWTOP) July 5, 2015
Now learning occupants of the home that caught fire, and those on either side will be displaced for tonight. pic.twitter.com/6BQ4GurEzr
— Neal Augenstein (@AugensteinWTOP) July 5, 2015
