Three families left homeless by Dale City fire

By Elisa Glushefski

Published: July 16, 2008

A two-alarm fire destroyed a Dale City house assesed at $395,600 and damaged three others, rendering two of those houses uninhabitable Wednesday afternoon.

No one was injured in the fire that displaced at least 11 people, but several pets in one of the damaged homes are believed to have died, said Prince William County Department of Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief Jim Forgo.

The blaze started about 4:35 p.m. at 13405 Keating Drive, fire and rescue said.

The first units arrived four minutes later to find the house fully engulfed in flames.

The house was destroyed within roughly 15 minutes, Forgo said.

All that remained was the foundation and a pile of charred ruins. The two-story, 11 room house was built in 1973 on half an acre.

The houses on either side sustained significant fire damage. Additionally, the heat from the fire melted siding on the house directly across the street.

The Herrarte family, who lived in the adjacent house at 13407 Keating Drive, was in Manassas getting ice cream when they got a call that there was a fire.

Mr. Herrarte, who did not give his first name, held onto the family's miniature pinscher, Princess, who was rescued from their home as firefighters worked to extinguish hot spots.

"I just don't understand how they didn't get it under control," he said as his wife sat in a neighbor's yard with tears in her eyes.

The family's rabbit was also rescued, but fire officials said the family's gerbil and two parakeets didn't survive.

Herrarte said that he, his wife and their four children moved to the house at 13407 Keating Drive in January.

Deputy Fire Marshal Joseph Battalion said investigators would remain at the scene for several more hours after the fire was fully extinguished.

A cause and origin of the fire had not been determined by deadline.

Officials are also investigating whether anyone was living at one of the houses, which was being remodeled, Forgo said.

Staff writer Elisa Glushefski can be reached at 703-878-8062.