Fire rips through garage, home, closes highway

Yet another fire has ripped through a home in the Valley.

Fortunately, no one was injured this time.

The first call came in for the fire in Brooke County just after 6 p.m. Wednesday.

Smoke and flames ripped through the garage and parts of the home on Main Street in Follansbee. Officials said the fire started in the back of the garage.

All four members of the family were home at the time. Everyone was able to make it out safely.

Homeowner Tiffany Pennybacker said she heard popping coming from the garage, and when she went to investigate, she saw the flames and called 911.

Parts of Route 2 were blocked off as crews from Follansbee, Wellsburg and Hooverson Heights battled the blaze. This left traffic to be rerouted, except for a few drivers who were already stuck.

"Rough guess, probably an hour and 15 minutes. I'm in good shape here so far," said truck driver Gary Adkins when asked if he was on a time deadline.

Adkins was driving his truck on Route 2 before firefighters even got to the scene, but had to stop because he was carrying a flammable load and saw flames shooting outward from the garage.

"It was pretty intense for a while. It was coming out. It was pretty bad there for a while," Adkins said.

Medical staff examined some firefighters at the scene, but Follansbee Fire Chief Larry Rea said that is routine.

Rea said he will have the fire marshal investigate the cause, which is still unknown, but said it did not look to be suspicious.

Route 2 has since been reopened, and traffic is moving again.