July 2, 1964 — Three small Luray girls, Debbie, 7, and Pattie, 9, daughters of Mr. and Mrs. James Hudson, and Dixie Dean, 9, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ralph H. Dean, showed unusual courage and foresightedness Monday evening when they were credited with preventing a fire in a new home under construction in the Hudson Subdivision.
According to Luray Fire Chief Maurice Judd, the girls were playing near the new home, after the workmen had left, when they smelled smoke. Entering the building, they found a pair of overalls on fire in one of the rooms.
They went to the basement, got a pail of water from a wheelbarrow and doused the fire. Then they went nearby to the home of State Police Sergeant L. Kayan and reported the incident.
Sgt. Kayan called Chief Judd who went to the home and found that the girls had put the fire out and it was not necessary to summon the Luray Fire Department. He commended the girls for a job well done.
Chief Judd stated it looked like a lighted cigarette had been laid on the mantelpiece, which fell on the overalls and ignited them. A small spot on the floor was charred by the heat where the garment laid.
~ From the public archives of the Page News and Courier
•••
TODAY IN HISTORY is a feature of PageValleyNews.com
~ Check the date of the story you just read!
Be the first to comment