Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, November 1, 1995 TAG: 9511010050
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-4 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RICHARD FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Rubatex Corp. foreman found an elderly woman sitting on a couch. She said she wasn't going to leave her home.
"I grabbed her underneath her arm, and a neighbor came in and got her other arm," McDilda said Tuesday. "By the time we got her across the road and sat her down, the house was on fire. Smoke was pouring out. It was that quick."
The woman and her son lost their Bedford home Monday evening to a fire that spread from an adjacent lot, where stacks of foam rubber owned by Rubatex caught fire. The fire, which was put out by Rubatex firefighters and volunteers from Bedford and Moneta, damaged several rooms in the house.
Bedford Police Chief Milton Graham said the fire was suspicious and is being investigated as possible arson by his department and the state police.
Rubatex security guards are keeping an eye on the house, which the company boarded up to protect Witt's undamaged belongings.
The house is owned by Dan Witt. The rescued woman is his mother; her name was not available Tuesday.
A Rubatex nurse checked the woman, who was uninjured. The rubber manufacturer also rented a car for the family.
"We're a big part of this community," said plant manager John Coburn. "I see it as our responsibility to help. They're neighbors."
Coburn said he couldn't offer additional information about the investigation into the fire, but said, "We have been told by our employees that they saw fire shoot up from a central area where we had the rubber stored."
The 5- to 6-foot stacks of foam rubber were stored outside on Rubatex's land, as permitted by city ordinance. According to Witt, the rubber was placed there about a month ago.
by CNB