Investigators have determined that an electrical failure of an extension cord caused the fire. A working smoke detector alerted the adult woman in the home to the smoke and she then woke the man up. They were both headed outside when the man went back to get clothing. The man was rescued from the home by firefighters and transported to a local hospital where he died several hours later.

Tests indicate that John Wise died of smoke inhalation.

Damage estimates are $100,000 for structure and contents.

Roanoke County Fire & Rescue was dispatched at 1:20 this morning to the 4000 block of Runnymeade Lane in the Oak Grove area of Cave Spring for a reported structure fire. When firefighters first arrived at the single story brick ranch house, they found smoke showing from the front door. A female occupant was out of the house and telling firefighters that a male occupant was still inside. Firefighters immediately searched the home and found the unconscious man. The man was transported to a local hospital suffering from potentially life threatening smoke inhalation.

It took volunteer and career fire crews from the Cave Spring, Back Creek and Vinton stations about 20 minutes to get the flames under control. There is significant fire, smoke and water damage to the basement of the house as well as smoke and heat damage to the first floor of the house.

There were three cats that lived in the home–two were found dead and the other was found hiding under a tree in the front yard.

The occupant will be displaced from her home and the woman is staying with family.

The fire started in the area of a utility closet, the sheriff said.

Sprinkle reported that the first fire units arrived at the scene three and one-half minutes after dispatch at 9:36 p.m., following a 911 call from the resident in the adjoining duplex, who noticed smoke coming from the structure when she arrived home from work. Graybill died while being transported to a hospital.

Fire units at the scene came from Troutville, Read Mountain, Buchanan, Fincastle, Blue Ridge, and Roanoke County, and emergency medical responders included Botetourt County’s career-staffed Rescue 7 and volunteer rescue squads from Troutville, Fincastle, Blue Ridge, and Buchanan, the sheriff reported.