Wildfire That Injured Two Firefighters Now Contained|ABC 13

text size: A | A | A

Wildfire That Injured Two Firefighters Now Contained

posted 10:43 pm Thu September 13, 2007 - Pittsylvania Co., VA

tags: fire • wildfire • brush

Please Upgrade To Flash!

ABC 13 - Wildfire That Injured Two Firefighters Now Contained

related stories:

The wildfire is contained now, but not before charring 81 acres of land and injuring two firefighters. The good news is, both suffered minor burns and have now been released from the hospital. Meanwhile, the fire continues to burn. Crews say it'll keep smoking for weeks. We were at the Java area of Pittsylvania County, and found that the flames have blackened a lot of land.

Everything has turned to ashes. We're just a few hundred yards away from the home of the Oswalds, a family that is very grateful the injuries weren't worse and their home was saved.

Diane Oswald - "I did not sleep much. Today I'm numb."

Understandable for Diane Oswald after what she saw outside her window.

Diane Oswald, Home close to Fire - "It was pretty close to the house and at that time I could even smell the smoke and then probably about thirty minutes later I could hear the fire crackling."

Her husband Ron is a volunteer firefighter, so this is a change for the Oswald family.

Oswald - "Fire department is part of our life. But last night, we were victims and it was an entirely different feeling."

Victims of the biggest fire many here have seen in years and one that spread very quickly.

Leslie Mace, Forest Technician - " It took off on us, exploded and probably went from 3-4 acres to 20 acres in just thirty minutes."

Forest Technician Leslie Mace says they're still keeping a close eye on the fire.

Mace - "We have several people still on the fire. We continue patrolling. We're taking the bulldozer at this point and covering up stumps and anything still burning."

Five departments responded to the call - and set up a command post near the Oswald's home. The flames came within a few yards, before crews could respond. They sprayed fire-resistant foam - and beat back the threat.

Oswald – “We didn't lose anything but we gained a lot. We gained a lot of thankfulness."

Forestry officials say they're going to let the fire burn itself out, but they'll keep watching it. And they want us all to know conditions are extremely dry and we need to be extra careful with fire.

You need to be a registered member of
ABC 13 to leave comments on news stories.

Not a member yet? Click Here to sign up.

Please leave your comments below:

Messages that harass, abuse or threaten other members; have obscene or otherwise objectionable content; have spam, commercial or advertising content or inappropriate links may be removed and may result in the loss of your posting privileges. Please do not post any private information unless you want it to be available publicly. Never assume that you are completely anonymous and cannot be identified by your posts.

The 'RUNNING MAN' icon is a registered trademark of America Online, Inc.