Mount Airy Fire Department members have responded to two blazes on back-to-back nights this week, including one Monday that sent an elderly couple to the hospital and fatally injured their pets.
“It’s very unusual,” city Fire Chief Zane Poindexter said of that frequency, especially in the summertime when heating sources are not a factor as they are in colder months. “Two nights in a row is not the norm.”
The fire Monday night occurred at a residence on 322 E. Independence Blvd. across the street from the Ollie’s Bargain Outlet shopping center, caused by an electrical problem, with the first blaze Sunday night on Merita Street stemming from an illegal burn.
It damaged a garage-type structure.
The incident on East Independence Boulevard was reported around 9 p.m. Monday at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Tate, who have been displaced as a result.