Most of the calls included motor vehicle accidents, trees down, wires down, and other weather related calls. The vehicle accidents involved fender benders, cars in ditches, etc. All of the injuries related to the reported vehicle accidents were considered minor.
Just after 3 p.m., fire crews were called to the 8300 block of Bradshaw Road for a reported structure fire. When crews arrived, they found a 30 by 75 foot detached garage engulfed in flames with a house about 20 feet away. Career and volunteer firefighters from the Masons Cove, Catawba, Fort Lewis, and Hollins stations were able to contain the flames to the garage, but it eventually collapsed from heavy fire damage. The garage is a total loss with estimates at over $300,000 for the structure and its contents. The cause has not yet been determined.
Citizens are reminded to follow some of the following winter safety tips
1. Keep anything that can burn at least three feet from heating equipment (furnace, woodstove, or portable heater).
2. Do not use your oven to heat your home.
3. Portable space heaters should be turned off every time you leave the room and before going to bed.
4. Make sure your fireplace has a sturdy screen to prevent sparks from flying into the room.
5. Allow fireplace and woodstove ashes to cool before disposing in a metal container.
6. Test smoke alarms monthly.
7. Install and maintain carbon monoxide alarms to avoid the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning.