Fires injure 2 Stafford firefighters

Two weekend house fires in Stafford sent one firefighter to the hospital and left another injured both while trying to battle the blaze.

The first fire happened Friday night around 7 p.m. in the Aquia area, as fire and rescue crews were called to a two story house that had flames bursting from the roof and the second floor.

Due to the lack of fire hydrants in the rural neighborhood, extra firefighters from Quantico, King George County, and a fire boat from Charles County, Md., were called into help, Mark Stone, Stafford fire and rescue spokesman said.

No one was home when the fire broke out, but neighbors called 911 when they saw the flames.

“There isn’t much left of the house except for the garage,” Stone said.

One fire fighter was injured when a piece of falling debris fell into his eye. He was treated on the scene and then released.

Officials determined electrical problems to be the cause of the blaze, with damages totaling around $335,000.

Fire trucks were rolling again early Sunday, as crews were called to a one-story home in the Courthouse area of the county, just before 5 a.m.

When crews arrived they saw fire shooting from the rear of the house and from the roof, Stone said.

While battling the blaze a firefighter had to be taken to the hospital for non-life threatening injures. He was treated and released.

Two adults who live in the house were able to escape the flames before help arrived. They have been displaced from their home, and will be for some time, Stone added.

Investigators are still looking into the cause of the blaze.

Though the numbers from 2008 are still being tabulated, nearly 120 U.S. firefighters lost their lives while on duty in 2007, according to the U.S. Fire Administration.

More than $14.6 billion in property was lost nationwide that year, with fire causing more damage nationwide than all natural disasters combined.

Staff writer Uriah A. Kiser can be reached at 703-878-8065.