Worsham Street fire leaves family homeless

By Sarah Arkin

Published: May 1, 2008

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The Danville Fire Department is still investigating the cause of a fire that demolished a Worsham Street home early Thursday morning.
“It’s slow going,” Fire Chief David Eagle said Thursday. “The extent of the damage made it very hard to get in to see what happened. It’s slow going, sifting through the rubble. There’s not much left.”
Called in just before 4 a.m., the blaze destroyed the five-bedroom home at 506 Worsham St. that Dolly Carter was living in with her five children.
“I’m shocked and amazed,” Carter said Thursday morning, hands shaking, looking at the charred frame of the home she had been renting.
Carter and her children were not in the house at the time of the fire.
Owners Mike and Randy Dowell said Carter had been renting the home for about four months. They received a call at about 5:30 a.m. informing them of the blaze.
A few hours later, the air still smelled smoky as the Dowells looked at what was left of the home. They weren’t sure whether or not the house was insured.
Just before 4 a.m., a Danville policeman leaving the station saw smoke coming from the area, Lt. Scott Eanes said. Firefighters responded quickly and put the flames out in about 45 minutes, he said.
By the time the fire department responded with four trucks and 20 firefighters, the blaze had already engulfed the three-story house, according to a news release from the fire department.
Seven neighbors from nearby houses were evacuated and relocated to the Innkeeper on Riverside Drive. Neither of the neighboring houses was affected, however, and no injuries have been reported.
•  Contact Sarah Arkin at or (434) 791-7983.