By Bill Archer
The Bluefield Daily Telegraph
NORTHFORK, W.Va. — The West Virginia State Police and the State Fire Marshal’s office traveled to McDowell County early Friday morning in response to a report that one or more shots had been fired at volunteer firefighters who were responding to multiple structure fires in the Maybeury/Switchback area.
The Northfork Volunteer Fire Department responded to a fire at an unoccupied structure in Switchback Bottom between 8 and 9 p.m., Thursday evening, according to Gary Dove, president of the fire department board.
“We had only returned back to the station when we got the call for the second structure fire on Simmons Mountain Road in Maybeury,” Dove said. “When firefighters arrived, someone on the hillside started shooting at them. I don’t think they were trying to hit them. They were probably just trying to scare them off.”
Dove said that Northfork Fire Chief Eric Graham told the firefighters to pull back until police could arrive to clear the scene. According to the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, the State Police received the call at 2:30 a.m.
Lawrence Messina, communications director of the West Virginia Department of Military Affairs and Public Safety, said that state police reported that there were no injuries in the incident. He encouraged anyone with information about the incident to contact the State Police of State Fire Marshal’s office.
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(c)2015 the Bluefield Daily Telegraph (Bluefield, W.Va.)
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