Father Saves Two Kids But Not Wife And Son

Lynchburg News & Advance
Published: February 2, 2008

A Lovingston man is recovering from smoke inhalation and burns after trying to rescue his wife and son from a fatal house fire early Wednesday.

Jerry Arrington, 32, who is in intensive care at the University of Virginia Medical Center, was able to get his two daughters to safety before trying to go back into the house for his wife and son, authorities said.

Shatia Arrington, 27, and Andre Brown, 11, were both killed in the fire, Ruth Amos, Jerry Arrington’s mother, said Thursday.

The Arrington’s other daughters, Star, 8, and Tajada, 7, were treated at the hospital and released.

The family is originally from the Washington, D.C. area and moved to Nelson County six years ago, Amos said. They moved into the small house at the intersection of U.S. 29 and Orchard Park Lane three years ago, she said.

Shatia worked for a post office in Charlottesville, while Jerry is a former school bus driver. The couple was married in August.

Andre, a football and basketball player, was a student at Rockfish River Elementary.

“Andre was a good kid,” Amos said. “He was a very loved little boy.”

The family would like to bury Arrington and Brown in Maryland but do not have the money to transport the bodies, Amos said. However, clothing donations have poured in.

Nelson authorities said the fire started in the living room but have not determined what ignited Wednesday’s blaze, which they believe began accidentally.

Steven Newman, a tractor-trailer driver en route from Philadelphia to Winston-Salem, saw the blaze as he was driving around a broken-down tractor-trailer on U.S. 29. He stopped his rig and ran to the mechanics working on a different truck and told them to call 911.

Nelson deputy Sgt. Scott Folsom arrived shortly after the call came in and climbed on the roof of a nearby shed with Newman and Arrington.

Folsom stuck his head and one foot inside and almost succumbed to the smoke. He suffered from minor smoke inhalation and burns inside his throat from the heat of the fire.

The two men had to physically drag the father off the roof as he struggled to get to his wife and son.

The fire was under control after about 90 minutes and finally extinguished around 4 a.m.

Six fire departments responded - Lovingston, Rockfish, Faber, Wintergreen, Piney River and North Garden.