Cuttermill Court House Fire in Herndon Virginia
February 21, 2013
On Saturday February 16, residents of 1400 Cuttermill Court in Herndon, Virginia were caught in a fire along with two of their pets. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department searched the house and considered the fire to be an accident. By attacking the fire from the back of the house, firemen came across large amounts of black smoke and flames that subsided in 10 minutes. The fire managed to burn through the first floor creating damages estimated at $100,000. Because of the condition of the house, The Red Cross agreed to assist the residents along with their pets. Investigators believe the fire started from an unknown electrical source in the basement. Luckily, they managed to flee from the scene without serious injuries as a result of smoke alarms.
Fleeing from a scene is a normal reaction however at an all girls boarding school we are trained to flee in a orderly fashion. At The Madeira School, we constantly participate in fire drills at ALL hours in different buildings. If the drill is during the day, we must exit the building in an orderly fashion with our class. Even though we managed to get out of the building a few girls cannot help but to let out a few screams or yelps as soon as the alarm goes off. While it is easy to panic, it is not beneficial to the situation but makes the situation worse. Don’t be this person! Fire drills at night are always interesting because someone is always caught in the shower and must run outside in their shower cap and towel. However, random fire drills are the best fire drills because your guard is down. And most likely you will not know when a fire happens, unless you plan it, which is very unlikely. Day or night, make sure you are prepared for a fire accident. Stay tuned for tomorrow’s blog post on fire safety tips.