Eighteen firefighters, including this hose team entering the burning home, tried to save Rosa Chapman’s rented home on the Greensboro Road Sunday afternoon.
Rosa Chapman had plenty on her mind Sunday afternoon without thinking about a fire. She was packing a bag, getting ready to go have eye surgery at the Medical College of Georgia Monday morning.
Then she heard a noise on her back porch. “It was just a poppin’, pop, pop. I thought it was an animal, and I opened the back door to shoo him off, and the fire just jumped up at me,” she said as she watched firefighters try to put out the wind-whipped flames burning her rented house in the 6100 block of the Greensboro Highway south of Washington.
Firefighters were called at 1:49 p.m. to the home, owned by Annie Mae Battle, with reports of a fire that started at the rear and moved forward. Station 6 in nearby Tyrone responded with an engine and tanker, followed quickly by an engine and tanker each from Washington and Rayle. There were 18 firefighters total responding. Fire Chief Alan Poss said.
Firefighters entered the burning house to fight the fire from inside, but the home, an older structure, was well involved when they arrived, and windy conditions fanned the flames. Firefighters worked to the point of exhaustion but were unable to keep the home from being a total loss.
Mrs. Chapman, 66, said she had spent her Saturday with members of the Church of Christ collecting money for people made homeless by Hurricane Katrina. “I didn’t think I’d be homeless the very next day.” She says she has children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren, and a church family who’ll take care of her. “I’ll be all right, I’ll just…oh, I just can’t believe it. All gone.”
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