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By LOU HATTER
Rappahannock News Staff Writer
Oak Hill, the home of Arthur and Peggy Smith, was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning.
The magnificent landmark, which overlooked Sperryville from a hill just west of U.S. 522, burned to the ground in about 20 minutes, according to Assistant Chief Richie Burke of the Sperryville Volunteer Fire Department, who was in charge on the foreground.
Mrs. Smith’s son, who was visiting for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, discovered the fire shortly after 2 a.m. when he woke up to close a window in his bedroom. He woke the rest of the family, and all were able to escape the quickly spreading flames.
Mrs. Smith and her mother were both burned by the fire, but neither required hospitalization.
Asst. Chief Burke said that because the house was so completely destroyed by the fire, he was unable to determine its cause.
He said he felt that the fire must have been burning for some time before it was discovered. “It was so fully involved in such a short period of time,” Chief Burke said, “I’ve never seen a house go up as fast as it did.”
The Smith family, he said, is speculating that the oil furnace in the basement may have exploded and caused the fire. Chief Burke said that is a plausible explanation for the speed with which the fire spread
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