New Kent Charles City Chronicle

News for New Kent County and Charles City County, Virginia | March 29, 2024

Exact cause of fatal NK fire remains under investigation

By Alan Chamberlain | November 13, 2008 11:27 am

Heavy concentrations of smoke and carbon monoxide apparently contributed to the death of a Barhamsville man after fire broke out in the living quarters of a Quonset hut-style building occupied by the deceased and a woman.

As of yesterday (Tuesday), investigators had not released what caused the blaze, but New Kent Fire Chief Tommy Hicks said the fire apparently started near a mattress and a pile of clothing.

Fire crews arrived on the scene at 5940 Farmers Drive (Route 273) shortly after 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 24. They encountered heavy smoke, but little fire, Hicks said the next day.

Fire fighters led by Herman Berry III from New Kent Company 3 pulled Milton Earl “Butch” Armandt, 61, and Deborah Ann Hulbert, 50, from the building. Armandt, however, was in cardiac arrest and could not be revived, Hicks said. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

Hulbert, meanwhile, was taken to MCV Medical Center in Richmond where she was listed in critical condition with heat and smoke damage to the esophagus and lungs. As of yesterday, she remains at MCV where her condition has been upgraded to serious, Hicks said. Neither victim suffered significant burns, he added.

Hicks said county dispatchers received a 911 call from a woman, believed to be Hulbert, who reported a house fire. When crews from New Kent companies 1 and 3 and James City County arrived, they found the two victims apparently trapped inside the small living quarters within the smoke-filled 60×100-foot steel and wood structure.

“There was very little fire damage to the structure or its contents,” Hicks said.

The building is located about 1,000 feet off Farmer’s Drive, he said. Most of the building was being used for storage and commercial purposes probably associated with a welding business, he added.

Fire crews remained on the scene until about 11:30 p.m. New Kent officials are labeling the incident the first fatal house fire to occur in the county in more than 10 years.