3 occupants unaccounted for after house fire in Prince William County

MONTCLAIR, Va. - Prince William County officials say three occupants of a home in Montclair, Virginia remain unaccounted for as firefighters begin to investigate the cause of the blaze.

The fire was reported at around 5:50 a.m. Friday at a single-family home in the 15,700 block of Piedmont Place.

Battalion Chief Tom Jarman said the home was fully engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived. Flames had spread across the first and second floors of the home and through the roof.

Jarman said they initiated an aggressive interior attack on the fire as they searched for occupants.

He confirmed that three occupants of the home’s basement were able to escape prior to the fire department’s arrival. He said three residents remain unaccounted for. He added that investigators were canvassing the neighborhood asking questions to get confirmation of the whereabouts of the missing occupants. 

Jarman said several of the home’s walls have collapsed and that there was a complete collapse of the roof into the second and first floor.

The cause of the blaze remains under investigation. No firefighters were injured.

In 2007, Jarman said the department lost a firefighter who was battling a blaze in a very similar lightweight construction style house. He said the scene conditions of the 2007 fire and Friday’s fire were very similar. He said the department did get word that there were working smoke detectors in the home.