STATter 911

An explosion in a garage brought firefighters to a single-family home on Portage Place in Centreville just after noon today. Firefighters say they were able to get the initial fire knocked down quickly and noticed a small amount of smoke near a wall. They soon realized fire had extended above. According to fire officials the homeowner then told firefighters there was a space he had built, between the garage and the second floor room, for storage.

Battalion Chief Mike Reilly says it was mostly Class A material stored in that void space. It is what was stored elsewhere in the house and in a storage shed out back that changed the tone of all of this. What had been a simple garage fire turned into a major operation when the homeowner informed fire crews he had a large amount of chemicals and fertilizer. Firefighters backed out and poured water in from the outside.

Fairfax County fire investigators were on the scene with ATF and the Fairfax County EOD. Battalion Chief Reilly says that there is nothing to indicate terrorism. They are interviewing the homeowner and he is being cooperative. Neighbors say the man who owns the house is known for putting on "spectacular" fireworks displays in his neighborhood.

I talked to the homeowner briefly and he said that he only used consumer fireworks for the neighborhood displays. While he says there was no criminal intent, he did did say it would not be inaccurate to report that what he was making in his garage at the time of the explosion could be considered illegal.

Sources close to the investigation say all indications are the man was making fireworks in the garage when something went wrong. Damage is estimated at $100,000.

Charges are pending against the homeowner.

A personal note. I ran into Battalion 403, Len Murry on the fireground in Centreville. In a few weeks Len will be retiring. Much earlier in both our careers, Len was PIO for Fairfax County Fire & Rescue. It was a job he did extremely well. Much luck to Len in his retirement.