Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Body found after Roanoke County house fire
Fire investigators searching through the rubble of a last night's house fire on Wildwood Road have found a body, according to the Roanoke County Fire and Rescue Department.
Officials sent the body to the medical examiner's office, said department spokeswoman Jennifer Conley Sexton. The medical examiner's office will determine the identity and cause of death.
Roanoke County police also are investigating and said in a news release that the remains are believed to be those of the resident. Nancy Burdette, who lives in North Carolina, said today that her husband, Jack Burdette, lived alone at the two-story house. The couple had been living separately, she said.
The blaze was reported about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 1600 block of Wildwood Road, which is a densely wooded neighborhood of single-family homes about a mile west of Interstate 81.
Initially, no injuries had been reported in the fire. But strong winds Tuesday night fed the flames and spread embers that sparked a half-acre brush fire.
The fire was under control by 1 a.m., Conley Sexton said.
Florence Collins, who lives near Burdette's house, said she was evacuated from her home Tuesday night as a precaution. Firefighters kept other neighboring homes under surveillance, Conley Sexton said.
By this morning, one of the two lanes on Wildwood Road was closed, and investigators were digging through debris to determine what started the fire, according to fire and police officials.
Officials sent the body to the medical examiner's office, said department spokeswoman Jennifer Conley Sexton. The medical examiner's office will determine the identity and cause of death.
Roanoke County police also are investigating and said in a news release that the remains are believed to be those of the resident. Nancy Burdette, who lives in North Carolina, said today that her husband, Jack Burdette, lived alone at the two-story house. The couple had been living separately, she said.
The blaze was reported about 9 p.m. Tuesday in the 1600 block of Wildwood Road, which is a densely wooded neighborhood of single-family homes about a mile west of Interstate 81.
Initially, no injuries had been reported in the fire. But strong winds Tuesday night fed the flames and spread embers that sparked a half-acre brush fire.
The fire was under control by 1 a.m., Conley Sexton said.
Florence Collins, who lives near Burdette's house, said she was evacuated from her home Tuesday night as a precaution. Firefighters kept other neighboring homes under surveillance, Conley Sexton said.
By this morning, one of the two lanes on Wildwood Road was closed, and investigators were digging through debris to determine what started the fire, according to fire and police officials.
