DINWIDDIE COUNTY, Va. — High humidity, dry conditions and hot temperatures helped fuel a fire in Dinwiddie County that sent two people to the hospital and damaged three houses and two sheds.
Two people were transported to a local hospital for smoke inhalation. One person had been inside one of the homes that burned, and the other was a Dinwiddie County Sheriff’s deputy who rescued a dog from the fire.
The initial 911 call came in as a shed or garage on fire in a backyard, but as fire engines got closer to the scene, a column of smoke rising in the air told a much different story. When the first units arrived at Olympic Lane, they found multiple structures burning.
"The initial 911 call came in as a shed on fire or garage in the backyard," Dinwiddie County Fire Chief David Kissner said. "Houses on fire, brush fire and with the dry conditions, obviously things quickly spread."
With multiple Dinwiddie County fire stations on the scene, Kissner called for mutual aid from Petersburg, Chesterfield and Prince George. Firefighters fought the flames from two separate streets.
"When you have multiple structures burning at the same time, nobody has enough resources on the initial alarm to handle that," Petersburg Fire Chief Wayne Hoover said.
The fire destroyed one home, while flames and heat caused damage to a house next door and another home behind it. Two sheds were also destroyed.
"With the weather conditions as dry as it is, this fire had the potential to really spread. Dinwiddie did a phenomenal job of knocking down," Hoover said.
The mutual aid was not just for equipment, but for manpower as well.
"Rotate staff to make sure we have crew here and make sure they are taken care of," Kissner said.
Hoover said crews were given "time to rehab," rehydrate and have their vitals checked.
The fire marshal is working to determine the exact cause of the fire.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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