Five Mile Road fire destroys garage

Published 11:11 am Monday, March 11, 2019

Suffolk Fire and Rescue crews clashed with a structure fire — and rescued one of their own — Monday morning on Five Mile Road.

The fire was reported at 9:27 a.m., and the first units arrived at the scene at 9:34 a.m., according to the city press release. Battalion Chief James Broglin described “heavy fire conditions” from the residence’s garage, located in the 100 block of Five Mile Road off Godwin Boulevard.

The fire raged from the two-car, detached garage and extended into the home, which was separated by a roughly four-foot breezeway, Chief Michael Barakey said. The extensive heat also caused damage to a neighboring residence.

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Crews quickly began attacking the fire, which was called under control at 10:26 a.m., according to the press release. The detached garage was a complete loss in a thick smell of charred materials.  Two cars parked in the driveway also sustained massive damages.

“The detached garage is a complete loss, and the damage to the main structure — luckily due to good firefighting efforts — was limited,” Barakey said.

Their efforts included a rescue when a wall collapsed on top of a firefighter. Her fellow firefighters quickly responded, and once removed, she and another firefighter were assessed and treated before being taken to Sentara Obici Hospital, according to the press release.

Barakey confirmed that the other injured firefighter was part of the rescue effort.

“We had a collapse occur to the garage area, and it trapped the firefighter when the wall collapsed onto the firefighter,” he said. “That firefighter was pulled out and transported to the hospital with non-life-threatening injuries, and the firefighter that was working to get the debris off of that firefighter got burns while trying to remove the debris from that firefighter.”

A Monday afternoon press release stated one of the two firefighters had been treated and released from Sentara Obici, while the second firefighter continued to be evaluated.

A woman who lived at the home also suffered a minor injury and received medical assessment and treatment on scene before being transported to Obici. She was treated and released later that afternoon.

The Fire Marshal’s Office investigation into the cause of the fire remains ongoing as of Monday, but it is not considered “suspicious in nature,” according to the press release. Two adults were displaced and are being assisted by the American Red Cross.