Charred clothing scraps on the front lawn serve as a reminder of a house fire that killed a wheelchair-bound man in the Oakton area last Friday, Aug. 29.
In the early hours of Friday, around 2:30 a.m., the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department received a 911 call alerting them of a fire occurring on the 12200 block of Waples Mill Road. As the firefighters arrived on the scene, residents of the house said someone was still trapped. Firefighters found the man, Henry Peters, 63, in his wheelchair. He died on the scene. The cause of death has yet to be determined.
The other occupants, four adults and one juvenile, escaped unharmed. Discarded smoking materials caused the fire, said fire department spokesman Lt. Raul Castillo, and property loss and damages totaled $100,000.
Smoke alarms were present in the house but not in working condition, Castillo added.
--By Joanna Franco