At 1:00 am on Saturday, June 21, Jacksonville Police Officer Bill Lupton spotted a red glow in the sky near the Bigham Knoll Campus. Within minutes, he was on-scene at 630 Cardwell Court, where he found portions of the deck, fence and home engulfed in flames and smoke. Lupton immediately awakened the family of four, most-likely saving their lives, before helping retrieve some personal property. Minutes later, an engine with Firefighters Derek Matchett and Justin Zigenis from Jacksonville Fire rolled-up and began working the house fire and protecting nearby structures. Due to the closeness of other homes in the tight cul-de-sac and intensity of the raging fire, Jacksonville Firefighters immediately requested backup and were then joined by three more fire companies, Jacksonville CERT and the Red Cross. Under the command of JV Fire Chief Devin Hull, 7 Companies with 22+ firemen fought the stubborn fire for three hours involving the Historic 1860 Residence. At press time, the cause of the fire is under investigation. Jacksonville Review Publisher Whit Parker, who was on-scene, took video and photos, which are available on our Facebook page at Facebook.com/JacksonvilleReview.
Posted June 23, 2014
Cardwell House Fire, June 21, 2014