Woodbridge condo building deemed unsafe after Jan.10 candle fire; 13 people displaced

Prince William Fire and Rescue units were dispatched to the 15000 block of Weathervane Terrace (Woodbridge) at 4:41 Jan. 10 for a report of a fire inside a 10-unit residential condominium, according to Matt Smolsky, Deputy Chief. The Fire Marshal’s Office determined the cause of the fire was an unattended candle.

The Fire and Rescue System warns that the use of candles can be hazardous and should never be left unattended or burned within 36 inches of combustible materials, or left where children or pets can knock them over. 

Crews arrived on the scene to observe fire and smoke coming from a condo unit in the rear of the building. During suppression operations, an occupant in another unit had to be evacuated down a ladder from the second story in the front of the building.

Deputy Chief Smolsky said firefighters learned that the occupants in the unit where the fire originated were alerted to the fire by an activated smoke detector. One of the occupants in the fire unit was transported to a local medical facility with a non-life threatening injury.

The unit of origin sustained moderate damage. 

The Building Official declared the entire condominium building unsafe to occupy, thus displacing the occupants of 10 units, at least 11 adults and two children. The Red Cross was on the scene to assist those with needs.