Friday morning fire displaces three Front Royal families

A Friday-morning fire on Virginia Ave. in town displaced four families, officials say. / Courtesy photos

An early Friday morning fire at 204 Virginia Ave. in Front Royal displaced three families, according to a press release from Warren County Fire Chief Richard E. Mabie.

Department of Fire and Rescue Services were dispatched to 204 Virginia Avenue in Front Royal for a reported apartment building fire. The release states that a call came in at 6:40 a.m. advising flames were visible on the upper floor of the building.

Fire and Rescue Units arriving on the scene of the large, multi-story apartment complex found flames visible in a 4th floor unit and a significant amount of smoke emitting from the roof system.  

Front Royal Police Department officers evacuated the building while firefighters worked to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters arriving on scene found smoke and flames emitting from the fourth floor of the building.

Firefighters were able to bring the fire under control within 15 minutes of arriving on the scene, Mabie stated in the release, though units remained on the scene throughout the morning performing salvage and overhaul procedures and assisting in the fire investigation. 

Working the call were: Truck 1, Truck 10, Engine 6, Engine 4, Tanker 3, Medic 1-2, Chief 100, FM 1,  Investigator 177, EM 2 and Middletown Medic 12 served as station fill during the operation.

Families displaced by the fire are being helped by the American Red Cross, officials say.

Occupants from three of the apartments within the 10-unit complex were displaced as a result of the fire and are receiving assistance from the American Red Cross. The fire caused approximately $150,000 in damages; there were no reported injuries.

The cause of the fire incident is under investigation by the Warren County Fire Marshal’s Office and the Front Royal Criminal Investigations Division, which received assistance from the Frederick County Fire Marshal’s Office Canine Division.

Anyone with information is asked to contact Fire Marshal Gerry Maiatico at 540-636-3830 or Detective Marc Ramey at 540-636-2208.