The Rockingham Fire Department responded to a fire at a house on the corner of Skipper and Armstead streets at 3:32 a.m. Friday morning. The tenant said that he was burning a candle which caught a blanket on fire.

Fire Chief Harold Isler said there was no electricity connected to the house. With no power, the house’s smoke alarm did not work and emergency crews were notified of the fire by a neighbor, Isler said. The house was fully engulfed by the time they arrived.

“With as much fire (as it had) on arrival, it had been burning for a while,” Isler said in a text.

No injuries have been reported. The fire damaged the vinyl siding on a duplex across the street, as well as power lines and the poles nearby. Workers from Duke Energy were dispatched to repair the power lines Friday morning.

The fire chief’s vehicle, the assistant chief’s vehicle, two fire engines, and one equipment truck responded to the call, with 15 personnel in total, according to Isler.

Gavin Stone | Daily Journal The vacant house at the corner of Armstead and Skipper streets was still smoldering around 8 a.m. Friday. Rockingham Fire Chief Harold Isler said that a man who was renting the house accidentally set fire to a blanket with a candle.
https://www.yourdailyjournal.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/web1_rockhousefire_102017.jpgGavin Stone | Daily Journal The vacant house at the corner of Armstead and Skipper streets was still smoldering around 8 a.m. Friday. Rockingham Fire Chief Harold Isler said that a man who was renting the house accidentally set fire to a blanket with a candle.

By Gavin Stone

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