NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (AP) -- A year after Hiram Taylor and his wife moved back into their house after it was ravaged by fire, a second blaze destroyed their home Tuesday.
Tuesday's fire started when gasoline apparently leaked from a pickup truck Taylor was working on and ignited, Newport News Fire Department spokesman Dana Perry said. Taylor grabbed a garden hose and sprayed water on the fire.
``Spraying water on a gasoline fire only causes the flames to spread,'' she said.
By the time firefighters arrived, the flames had spread to the front of the house and to a boat in the driveway next door.
The blaze destroyed the truck, the boat and the Taylors' house, as well as damaging a car. Fire officials estimated damage at $100,000.
The Taylors had moved back into the house a year ago this month after it was rebuilt following a fire caused by a faulty extension cord in January 2003, Perry said.
On Tuesday, the new roof had a gaping hole in it. Pieces of attic insulation littered the living room, and the intense heat had melted most of the white vinyl siding and brown trim.
Information from: Daily Press
