Police and fire investigators are trying to determine what sparked a Monday morning blaze in Woodbridge that left a woman dead and a man suffering serious burns.
Firefighters were called to the 15200 block of Valley Stream Drive in Rippon Landing at 12:47 a.m. Monday, where they found the victims. The woman was dead at the scene, fire officials said. The man was flown by helicopter to an area hospital. His condition was unknown Monday evening. Their names and ages have not been released.
A volunteer firefighter also suffered minor injuries. He was treated at Potomac Hospital and released, Prince William fire and rescue spokesman Randy Earl said.
The blaze — the county’s first and only fatal fire this year — left about $200,000 in damage to the townhouse, but firefighters were able to stop the flames from spreading to adjacent homes, Earl said.
A man who declined to give his name lives in one of the homes firefighters saved. He and his wife live next door to where the blaze occurred.
He said he heard a man screaming and he told his wife to call 911. When he went outside to investigate he said “the house was engulfed in flames” and there was nothing he could do. He added he never heard the woman scream for help.
Neighbors described the man and woman as a quiet couple.
“She would pet my dog as I walked him around the neighborhood,” said Joe Mack, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than 22 years.
Mack said she was studying to become a veterinarian while working at a vet’s office in Springfield. He said she liked working with horses.
Neighbors said she didn’t have any pets of her own.
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