Staff Report

Fire investigators are still trying to find out what caused the blaze that swept through a Carolina Road home Tuesday morning.

Firefighters arriving at the single-story house at 1222 Carolina Road around 7:30 a.m. found smoke coming from the rear attic vent and seeping from the edges of the roof, said Capt. Jim Judkins, spokesman for the Suffolk Fire Department.

Firefighters used a thermo-imaging camera to determine the greatest source of heat was coming from the right corner of the building, Judkins said. Using that information, they crawled under the smoke and found the fire in a rear bedroom.

The blaze had extended from the bedroom to the main hallway, and a portion of the attic, Judkins said.

Although the fire appears to have started behind a bedroom door, there was no obvious source of ignition, Judkins said.

Floyd H. Dickens, who rented the house, and his teenage daughter were not injured in the fire, Judkins said.

Damage estimates total about $15,000.