The PDL Terrace House Fire

The 4/19 fire at 845 PDL Terrace served as an example of what a great neighborhood we have, in that caring neighbors rallied to locate and contact the newly-wed residents on their honeymoon in Bermuda, boarded up and secured the house afterwards, arranged temporary housing at the Gaslight Inn on St. Charles Avenue and watched the house til the owners returned. Quick response from our AFR Station # 19 minimized the structural damage.

This tragedy also served to emphasize the importance of getting to know your neighbors and to having a contact directory for your street. Most all of our VaHi streets now have a Safety Team Street Captain and many now have such directories – but if you are reading this and are not aware of who your Street Captain is or if your street doesn’t have a lead person, contact me at [email protected] so I can put you in touch with your street person or find a person to be the lead contact person. Good neighbors are our first line of defense against the perils that can confront us at any time.