Fire drives Cana family out of home

CANA — A family in Cana woke up to a home full of smoke early Tuesday morning and managed to escape the flames, according to emergency officials.

The Cana Fire Department received a call to a house fire at the family home of Wayne McMillian on Duck Lane near Bear Trail, shortly before 2 a.m. Tuesday, Chief Richard Sowers reports. 

"One of the daughters woke up and couldn't breathe and the house was full of smoke," he said. 

All family members got out of the house before the fire department was alerted. After fleeing the blaze, the family members went for help to one of their neighbors who's also a fire department volunteer.

By that time, one whole end of the home had caught on fire, according to Sowers. 

The homeowner had tried to put out the flames by pouring buckets of water on it, but the fire continued to spread.

The cause of the blaze has not been determined, but Sowers said it appears to have started in one of the bedrooms.

McMillian and another family member were transported by Cana Rescue Squad to Northern Surry Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation. The medical issues were not life threatening.

The home — made up of two house trailers that had been put together and roofed over — is considered a total loss.

Franklin Fire Department out of Surry County, N.C., assisted at the scene. Cana firefighters remained there until about 4:30 a.m.

Sowers believed that Red Cross was providing the family assistance with a place to stay after their house was destroyed.