Historic plantation home catches fire
Published 10:33 am Wednesday, June 13, 2018
More than 10 fire departments worked for several hours to contain a fire at a historic home in Charlotte Court House Tuesday.
The east wing of Arcadia Plantation, located at 412 Arcadia Lane, caught fire Tuesday morning, Charlotte Court House Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Russell said. The fire prompted all seven of Charlotte County’s fire departments, in addition to Brookneal Volunteer Fire Department, Chase City Volunteer Fire Department, Meherrin Fire & Rescue, Darlington Heights Volunteer Fire Department and Hampden-Sydney Volunteer Fire Department, to respond.
Russell said the Charlotte County Rescue Squad and the Charlotte County Sheriff’s Office also responded.
The plantation was built in 1847, documentation from the Virginia Department of Historic Resources cited.
Russell said the incident was called in by passerby’s who saw the fire in the building. He said no occupants were at home at the time of the fire.
He said the fire is under investigation, and the cause is not yet known. He said the fire reportedly originated in the kitchen area of the home.
He said the Charlotte Court House fire department received the call of the fire shortly after 8 a.m., and said the fire was reportedly clear at 3 p.m.
“It was a very difficult fire to fight,” Russell said, noting that the house’s structure and the humidity affected many of the firefighters and made it a challenge to contain the fire. “Very difficult, used a lot of people, very tiring. That’s why we needed so many companies.”
Russell said he estimated that departments used approximately 10,000 gallons of water to douse the fire.
He thanked the different departments for their service, saying the house is currently repairable due to their efforts.
“We couldn’t have done it if everybody else hadn’t showed,” Russell said. “We would have lost the whole house.”