House burns amid several bushfires

KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) – A home on Allens Fork Road in the Sissonville neighborhood of Kanawha County caught fire after several brush fires were reported late Tuesday afternoon.

CW Sigman, Kanawha County emergency manager, said extreme drought and heat contributed to the fire’s spread and eventually caught fire at the house.

“It’s certainly dry weather. I’ve been in the fire service for 54 years and I’ve never seen it this bad in August. I’ve seen a few bushfires in August, but nothing this bad,” Sigman said.

Sigman said there are usually more bushfires in mid-October. “Green grass is pretty much the best thing you can have around your house, but nobody has green grass at the moment,” he said.

The emergency services were on site for more than four hours. The entire house and the surrounding buildings burned down.

Brooke Fisher, a neighbor and friend of the homeowner, went outside and saw what she initially thought was dust.

“It was very scary, but luckily I had my phone with me so I could call 911 and get everything taken care of,” Fisher said.

Sigman said there were no injuries after multiple emergency crews wet the ground and the Sissonville Fire Department searched the home.

“Life safety comes first and when we and additional backup arrived, he was able to say, ‘OK, everyone take care of the brush fire or grass fire, we’re going to keep searching and make sure no one is in that house.’ Good decisions on their part,” Sigman said.

Volunteer fire departments and first responders from various counties joined forces to extinguish the fires, close the road and take care of the problem areas.

“These guys are great. They did the hard work on their day off. They donate their time for the most part and did that hard work, wow,” Sigman said.

Fisher said when something so devastating happens, neighbors are always there to help.

“Anyone on this hill will do anything for you. It’s a great community.”

The cause of the fire is still unknown. The Forest Service was on Allens Fork Road Tuesday evening to determine if it was a legal fire.

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