A house on Spruce Street near Manassas burned late last month.
Multiple sources tell Potomac Local Prince William County firefighters may have something to do with the cause of the blaze.
Fire crews were called to a home at 8105 Spruce Street at 1:26 a.m. Friday, March 18. The home was fully engulfed in flames, and fire crews would later call it a total loss.
It was the second time in less than 24 hours fire crews were called to the home. A kitchen fire displaced the three adults and four children who live inside the home midday March 17.
Home owner Joni Blue told Potoamc Local a grease fire was the cause of the kitchen blaze on March 17.
“I grabbed the pan on the stove, but it was too late. It went up in flames,” said Blue.
After extinguishing the blaze, fire crews brought fans to vent smoke from the house. Fire crews disconnected the hood unit over the stove as a precaution to see if the fire had crept into the wall, said Prince William County Fire Department Chief Kevin McGee.
They had been staying at a nearby hotel when they got the call about the second fire that destroyed their home.
Blue would not comment on the grease fire, and said her insurance agency told her not to speak about the incident. She also said Prince William fire and rescue officials told her not to talk to anyone about the fire until an investigation is complete.
“That’s not the case,” said McGee, denying Blue’s claim.
Blue’s elementary school-aged son suffers from Type 1 diabetes. He uses an OmniPod Insulin Pump to help him manage his ailment. Stored inside her refrigerator were thousands of dollars worth of insulin, testing strips, and other medical supplies.
After the grease fire, Blue said her refrigerator was working when fire crews left her home. Multiple sources told Potomac Local fire crews inappropriately performed electrical work in the house to ensure the fridge worked properly, and the insulin was saved.
Hours later, Blue’s home caught on fire again, and emergency crews were unable to save it.
McGee told Potomac Local the incident remained under investigation. The county fire marshal’s office provided a written transcript of the 911 call but declined to release the audio recording of the call.
He added fire crews are not permitted to perform electrical work on the job. The kitchen hood was disconnected for safety reasons, he added.
Blue and her family are no longer staying in a hotel and are now in a temporary residence. Late last month, a Go Fund Me page established to help Blue’s family had reached more than half of its $10,000 goal.
Blue bought the house from her father in 2013, she said. Before that, the house and land on which it sits dates back to 1949. Her grandparents placed a trailer on the land in the early 1960s, and the house, now a total loss, was built in 1982.
