Electrician Injured Friday in Fire at Springfield Home

An electrician was sent to the Burn Center at Washington Hospital Center Friday after a circuit breaker he was working on exploded at a home on Morning Dew Court in Springfield. The extent of his injuries was not known.

Firefighters from Fairfax County Fire and Rescue were called to the home at around 2:15 p.m. Friday, said Captain William Moreland. When firefighters arrived they found the home engulfed in flames.

"The fire took a good 30 minutes to get under control," he said. "Wind conditions made it more difficult to extinguish the fire." The National Weather Service predicted wind gusts up to 35 MPH Friday for Springfield.

According to fire officials, the electrician, from Kolb Electric whose name was not immediately available, was the only injury at the fire. The owner of the home, Maria Ramserran, said the electrician was working at the home because "we did not have any electricity."

"We didn't have any heat last night," she said. "It was so cold and my husband took off of work [Friday] to meet the electrician. And then I get a call at work that my house is on fire. Aye, aye, aye." Temperatures Thursday night were below freezing after a cold front moved into Northern Virginia.

The electrician and Lawrence Ramserran went over and knocked on neighbor Jeff Welch's door to call 911 after electric work apparently led to an explosion.

"The electrician told me he pulled something from the circuit breaker, it exploded, and that's what started the fire," Welch said. The circuit breaker was in the basement.

"He [the electrician] looked like he was sunburned around the shadows of his eyes," he said.

The Ramserrans and their son were displaced by the fire and plan to spend Friday night at a hotel. Fire officials said the home was a total loss.

Maria said she also fosters rescue dogs, from A Forever Home in Chantilly. She said two dogs and two cats are missing and presumed dead. Four other dogs she is fostering were in the backyard of a neighbor's house, she said.

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