Elderly man’s Woodbine home destroyed by fire

An elderly Woodbine man’s home burned late Friday night, and fire department officials say it is likely several of his pets perished in the blaze.

Members of the Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department responded to a blaze at a residence off Carter Street around 9:30 p.m.

Friday. When they arrived the home, owned and occupied by Roy Sturgill, was already up in flames and had suffered sever damage.

Sturgill escaped from the home without injury, but said at the scene he was worried about his six dogs that were inside the home when the fire started.

Woodbine Volunteer Fire Department Chief Rick Fore said the animals, both dogs and cats, could not be located.

Sturgill said he is not sure how the fire started. Fore said fire officials believe it started in or around the fireplace.

"It was just an accidental fire," Fore said. "It was an old house and it had a high fire load. There was a lot of debris in there that could burn."

The home could only be accessed via a grassy trail leading to it. Fore said you could not get to the house via the main road, instead having to cross a neighbor’s driveway. Firefighters also had difficulty getting to the house because a road they would normally use, Walders Lane, was blocked by trees.

"I don’t know why the county hasn’t cleaned that road. We had to go in there and take chainsaws and clear the road so we could get our trucks out."

Firefighters from Oak Grove and Rockholds Volunteer Fire Departments were also at the scene to assist Woodbine. Fore said his department had to return to the home four times to extinguish it because the fire had rekindled.