Fire destroys barn in Centreville

CENTREVILLE — A family is cleaning up what's left of their barn today after a fire burned it to the ground. It happened in Centreville Wednesday. Firefighters don't have a definite cause yet, but the homeowner and the crews that responded believe an unattended fire pit sparked the blaze. The fire took place just east of Centreville on M-86. The homeowners were not home at the time. According to firefighters, the barn was fully engulfed when they arrived. They focused their attention on saving the house and keeping the fire from spreading through the grass. Some of the siding on the house was melted off and nearby pine trees were burned. A trailer was also destroyed. The homeowners own a horse, but say he was in the field at the time of the fire. Neighbors who saw the blaze couldn't believe how big it was. "I came out of my garage and there was all a wall of smoke,” said neighbor Bob Kelley. “You couldn't see much farther than 20 or 30 feet. And I ran back in the house and told my wife that everything was on fire over there." The home owners, who didn't want to go on camera, say they're not sure what they're going to do next, but neighbors think the community will come together to help out the family. Now that it's warmer out, firefighters know more people will be out burning brush and trash. They urge everyone to take every precaution to make sure something like this doesn't happen.