Candle fire displaces 11 adults, 2 children in Woodbridge

On Monday, January 10 at 4:41 pm, Prince William County fire and rescue crews went to the 15000 block of Weathervane Terrace in Woodbridge for a report of a fire inside a condominium.

Crews arrived on the scene with fire and smoke coming from a condo unit in the rear of the building. As crews battled flames, an occupant in an adjacent unit had to be evacuated down a ladder from the second story in the front of the building, said fire and rescue spokesman Matt Smolksy.

Fire crews later learned a smoke detector alerted the the occupants of the home where the fire originated to the blaze. Emergency crews took one of the occupants in the fire unit was taken to a local hospital with a non-life threatening injury.

The unit of origin sustained moderate damage.  The Building Official declared the entire condominium building unsafe to occupy displacing the occupants of 10 units, at least 11 adults and 2 children.

The Red Cross was on the scene to assist those with needs. The Fire Marshal’s Office determined the cause was an unattended candle, said Smolksy.

The Fire and Rescue System warns everyone the use of candles can be hazardous and should never be left unattended, burning within 36″ of combustible materials, or left where children or pets can knock them over, he added.