An Albemarle County home was heavily damaged in a Monday morning fire. The County Fire Marshal’s office says a family who lived in the 300-block of Westfield Road did not get rid of some ashes the right way. Assistant Fire Marshal Shawn Maddox says a rear deck caught fire and it affected the first and second stories of the house. Maddox says the total property and content damage is nearly $152,000. Firefighters were summoned to the house shortly after 6:20 a.m. Monday. There were no injuries and the family is being assisted by the local Red Cross. Maddox says anyone who cleans out a wood stove, fire pit or grill should put ashes in a metal can or bucket with a lid. The can or bucket should be at last ten feet away from a house or deck. Meanwhile, county fire officials are still looking for answers following a fatal house fire in the Free Union area. An unidentified man who lived by himself in the 3400-block of Millington Road died after his home caught fire Sunday morning. His body was sent to a state medical examiner’s office in Richmond.
