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Lincoln house burns

September 28, 2009|By BEN KLEPPINGER

STANFORD — A homeowner along U.S. 150 may have lost his home in a fire on Friday, but firefighters say he was lucky to escape with his life.

William Bishop, of 2212 U.S. 150 East, had left his house with his family on Friday, but they forgot something and went back for it. When Bishop tried to the side door to his house, he could feel pressure behind it preventing him from opening it. He pushed harder, and the door opened a little before slamming back in Bishop's face.

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"It threw me back maybe 10, 15 feet," he said.

As Bishop stood up, the windows in the house blew out due to the fire building inside his home.

Lincoln County Fire Chief Danny Glass said Bishop was lucky he arrived when he did, and not any later.

"Had he been another minute or two later and jerked the door open, it very well could have been the last door he opened," he said. "He was very lucky."

What Bishop encountered was what Glass called a backdraft situation. By forcing the door open just a little, Bishop allowed fresh oxygen into his house, giving the flames more fuel.

About 25 firefighters responded to Bishop's 911 call, and the blaze was under control in about half an hour, but the house was still essentially a complete loss.

"It gutted the inside of it," Glass said. "On our arrival it was totally involved."

Glass said almost every part of the house suffered fire damage, and the parts that didn't had substantial heat damage. The fire may have been caused by several pieces of electrical equipment Bishop had plugged in.

Bishop, who has a wife, two sons and a daughter, was working on turning part of his living room into an extra bedroom.

The Bishops had no fire insurance. Bishop is unemployed and Bishop's wife, Casey, recently lost her job. The Red Cross has provided clothes and arranged for the Best Western in Danville to house the family, where they plan to stay until Wednesday.

William Bishop said despite the fire, he's sure his family will be OK.

"We're doing well," he said. "We'll find something."

Glass said the house was made out of blocks, so it might be partially salvageable.

"He could probably still use the block that's there," he said. "For the most part, I'm confident it's going to be pretty much a total loss."

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