Crying baby alerted homeowner to flames

An electrical malfunction in a ceiling fixture appears to have caused a house fire Sunday morning on Old Orange Road, according to Culpeper Co. 1 Fire Chief Stacy Carpenter.

Tony Ochoa, head of the household that began renting the home about two years ago, said the sound of a crying baby woke him around 5:30 a.m.

“I could see the fire at the ceiling,” he said. “There was a lot of smoking. I had no vision because it was too dark.”

That’s when Ochoa began alerting the rest of the residents — 13 in all — and getting them out of the burning structure.

No one was hurt in the blaze, which Ochoa said began in one of the second-floor bedrooms.

Rapidan Fire Chief Lee Wilson, who assisted with the call, said the ceiling had collapsed by the time he had arrived around 6:10 a.m.

And the breezy conditions didn’t help the situation either.

“The wind was driving the fire for quite a bit,” Wilson said. “We had to keep chasing it and chasing it.”

Carpenter said it took about five hours to totally extinguish the blaze.

The Inskeep family owns the house under the name of Battlepark Farms.

Ochoa lived in the home with his wife, Carmella, his mother-in-law and their three children. In addition, others were staying there the night of the fire.

The American Red Cross placed the family in a local hotel, where they’ll stay for the next few days. The organization also provided money for food and clothing.

Jack Jones, readiness and response coordinator for the Red Cross in Charlottesville, said if people want to give money or household items, all donations go into a disaster pool.

“We don’t have individual funds set up for people,” he said.

Ochoa said he’ll return to work today and he’s looking for another place to rent.

Landlord Jack Inskeep said he’ll try to help the family find another place to live.

The house is located at 20475 Old Orange Road and was built in the early 1900s.

Rhonda Simmons can be reached at 825-0771 ext. 125 or