Feb. 10--Usually Lynchburg fire fighter Travis Guthrie, 28, responds to fire calls.
That all changed early Sunday as he drove down Perrymont Avenue toward fire station 3.
"It just seemed like something wasn't right, and so I backed up," said Guthrie.
That's when he saw the house fire.
"Its different being on the other end of a 911 call," said Guthrie, a three-year veteran of the Lynchburg Fire Department.
After calling 911 at 6:42 a.m. Sunday, Guthrie began banging on the front door of the house and yelling in an attempt to wake the residents. Luckily, someone was in the front room and heard him. Together, they got the family -- two adults and four children -- out of the house.
Fire crews were on site within five minutes of the call, and the fire was under control by 7:10 a.m.
Had the fire, which began outside the home, progressed before the occupants were made aware of it, they may have had trouble getting out of the house, said Lynchburg Fire Captain Russell Ayscue.
"I think the family was very fortunate that Travis took that route to work this morning," said Lynchburg Fire Captain Kenny Turner.
Guthrie, who lives in Brookneal, leaves for work early so he can take a different route to work, through the neighborhood he serves, everyday. It's a tip he learned from another firefighter.
"It's rare that we get a worker who is on the way to work, to drive by a house fire and catch it and get the occupants out of the house before it's too late," said Turner who was looking forward to ribbing Guthrie at work this week.
No one was injured in the fire but the house is uninhabitable. Vinyl siding is highly flammable and the fire spread quickly. The front of the home sustained significant damage, and power to the house had to be turned off. No other homes were affected.
Officials say the fire appears to be accidental, although the cause still is under investigation.
Amy Whittaker with the American Red Cross said the agency is providing the family with "financial assistance to make sure they have a place to stay, money to purchase food and clothing and infant items as well."
Copyright 2014 - The News & Advance, Lynchburg, Va.
