Mount Airy fire personnel are seen Friday at 1101 Mitchell St., where three elderly residents got out safely after smoke filled the house.
Three elderly residents of a house on Mitchell Street escaped injury Friday when a cooking-related fire occurred there.
“It was a very, very, very close call,” Mount Airy Fire Chief Zane Poindexter said of the incident at 1101 Mitchell St., the home of Virginia Gravely and two siblings, all of whom were described as elderly.
The fire department was notified about 9:50 a.m. Friday and had personnel at the brick structure within a minute.
“Upon our arrival, the house was full of smoke,” Poindexter said.
Gravely discovered the smoke and called 911 from another room. She and her brother and sister, whose names were not available, apparently became “disoriented” by the smoke, the fire chief said. “We helped the three people exit the structure.”
No injuries occurred among the occupants or the seven on-duty and seven off-duty fire department members who responded. The situation was brought under control within about five minutes.
Damage was limited to $500, to contents of the residence, with no structural damage occurring.
“The occupants were not displaced — they were able to go back in the house,” the fire chief said.
Although Friday’s incident had a relatively happy ending, Poindexter said it points to the dangers of cooking-related fires, a top cause of residential blazes.
Pots on stoves should be monitored constantly and never left unattended, the fire chief said.
Reach Tom Joyce at 719-1924 or tjoyce@civitasmedia.com.
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