A haunting sight

Jack-o-lantern causes fire in Fox Hill

Casey Templeton /contributing photographer

A jack-o-lantern in the window of 1507 Fox Hill caught fire, setting the townhouse ablaze Saturday night.
The fire began when a candle inside a pumpkin set the curtains on fire, said Harrisonburg Fire Chief Larry Shifflett. He estimated about $50,000 to $60,000 worth of damage to the house.

At the time of the blaze, there were two people home — one roommate and a friend, said junior Michael Toner, a resident of 1507 Fox Hill.

Toner said that he was driving around the corner from Squire Hill as he saw smoke coming from his row. "I jumped out of my car and ran to my apartment."

Senior Katie Riesenfeld, who lives in 1501, reported the fire at 8:32 p.m. after a friend ran over to her home and let her know of the fire in 1507.

Senior Sarah Krebs lives three doors down from the scene of the incident. "I saw flames from the window," Krebs said. "No one had a fire extinguisher and the fire was too involved to do anything." Her concern was getting people away from the burning home.

Four fire engines and one ladder truck arrived at the scene at 8:37 p.m.

Harrisonburg Fire Department were at the scene, according to Shifflett. He said the fire was under control in about 20 minutes although firefighters were on the scene until 11:30 p.m.

Fox Hill Property Manager Stephanie Furr offered the residents a place to stay, but they already had plans to stay with friends.

"My supervisor will be contacting the insurance company," Furr said. "Right now, we are dealing with the immediate [situation]."

Seniors Kristen Lytle and Cary Bell came home from dinner to discover their neighbors’ townhouse was in flames. Bell said the two were unsure which house was on fire at first because there were so many fire trucks surrounding the area.

After realizing her house was not the one in flames, "I ran inside to get my laptop," Lytle said.

No one was injured.

Lytle said, in her townhouse next door, there was water damage and a small hole in the roof. They did not stay in their place the night of the fire.

"We don’t know when we are moving back in," Lytle said.

She explained that they had to move their stuff to one side of a room to avoid water damage to their belongings.

Sunday morning, the neighbors of 1503, 1509 and 1511 helped clean up 1507. "It was a community effort and we salvaged as much as we could," Lytle added.

All photos by contributing photographer Casey Templeton