By Steve Stone
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Va. — Improper disposal of smoking materials was blamed Sunday for a small fire in a trash-handling system serving the 12-story Pembroke Towers.
No one was injured and none of the residents of the building’s 168 apartments had to be evacuated.
Jack Goldhorn, a spokesman for Norfolk Fire-Rescue, said the first calls for the blaze came in at 11:39 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they found smoke filling the trash room on the lower floor.
The fire was confined to a trash chute with smoke extending up several floors. Goldhorn said no substantial amounts of smoke spread outward onto any residential floors, so no evacuation was needed.
It took a few minutes for firefighters to douse the burning trash. They remained on the scene to ventilate the smoke.
One firefighter was taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment of an eye injury suffered after some debris blew into his face. Goldhorn said he was expected to recover.
The three-wing building, overlooking the Hague and built in 1964, is owned and managed by Sachs Palin, which also owns nearby Hague Towers as well as scores of residential and commercial properties around the country.
In January 2007, an explosion and fire on Pembroke Towers’ 12th floor left some residents standing on balconies seeking fresh air.
A resident and a firefighter were injured.
Fire damage was confined to the top floor, although smoke and water damage spread to other upper floors. The cause was eventually traced to a faulty gas line, Goldhorn said.
Copyright 2008 Landmark Communications, Inc.
All Rights Reserved