Dog killed in house fire; goat lives

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Rhonda Dodson said that if her father hadn’t already passed away before Christmas, the Thursday morning fire at his home near Lake Jackson would have killed him.

Dodson’s sister was putting her 6-year-old niece on the school bus Thursday morning just before 9 a.m. when flames broke out at 8129 Sinclair Mill Drive.

When the little girl saw the flames, she didn’t want to get on the bus, neighbors said. She wanted to save her pets — a new puppy, Misty; two adult pit bulls; and a goat.

Fire crews were able to save the goat, puppy and one of the dogs, but the other pit bull died in the blaze in the one-story, country-style home.

In the end, the 6-year-old did get on the bus and go to school.

Rhonda Dodson, who was in Maryland, got a call from a police officer about the blaze in the family home.

“I drove like a bat out of hell and made a trip that normally takes an hour-and-a-half in about 45 minutes,” said Dodson.

Dodson said she initially thought perhaps a walkway or a small portion of the house burned. She never considered the house would be gutted by fire.

“You can’t just easily fix this,” she said.

Medics had to wrap Dodson’s sister’s hands in gauze after she injured them smashing out the windows trying to save her animals.

“It’s terrible, I have never seen anyone’s house catch on fire. I wish there was something I could have done,” said Rhonda Cohen, the school bus driver who called 911.

Cohen, who also lives on the street, gave the puppy to the little girl on her route. She said she was relieved to learn the girl’s mother did not appear to be seriously injured.

Dodson said her sister had lived in the home for nearly 10 years, alongside her father.

She said the family liked the neighborhood’s country setting and would often split their time between their home in Maryland and their Lake Jackson area property.

Her 69-year-old mother, who also rushed Thursday from Maryland to help her daughter and granddaughter, was in the process of filing paperwork in the death of her husband. Those papers were also lost in the blaze.

The fire was extensive, gutting much of the home.

Smoke continued to billow from a pile of charred debris in the front yard long after the fire was extinguished.

Two large metal gas containers, which looked to provide heat to the home, were not damaged in the fire.

A neighbor who saw the fire break out said the flames were intense.

“She turned around and saw flames coming out of her window and then she ran over to the house. She knocked the windows out and then the next thing you know flames were coming out of the doorway,” said David Moore, who lives directly across the street.

Linda Cohen, a director with Prince William Red Cross, said this is one of the more serious fires she has seen.

“They are going to need full assistance,” she said.

Through the private donations from Prince William County residents and business owners, Cohen said they would be able to offer her shelter for the next few days, and basic necessities like clothing and food.

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