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Son lauds dad’s ‘miraculous’ escape: ‘He is blind — and that helped him get out’

Posted at 1:16 PM, Jan 31, 2016
and last updated 2016-02-01 07:18:07-05

AMELIA COUNTY, Va. -- Fire investigators are working to determine what caused a two-story home along Route 609 to go up in flames in Amelia County Sunday morning. Photos show the home completely engulfed in flames around 7:15 a.m.

The homeowner's son said his father was lucky to have made it out alive.

“My dad was fortunately able to get out of the house, which was miraculous he is blind, and that helped him get out,” Rodger Delp said. “He was able to know how many steps were to the door, and he was able to get out of the house right before it really went up.”

Delp said that his father only managed to get two of his dogs out of the home. Two other dogs perished in the fire.

“It’s kind of a shock, as you can see the house is completely gone,” Delp said. “All of our family heirlooms and records and photographs from my childhood, my sisters childhood, all that is gone.”

Delp praised firefighters for the tireless work.

“Thank goodness, for the fire department here and all their work, they have been here all day. I know those guys are tired but we certainly appreciate they were able to save the garage,” Delp said.

Route 609 was shut down for a few hours while crews worked to extinguish the blaze.

Firefighters said the home was deemed a total loss.

No one was injured, but two people were displaced.

The fire remains under investigation.

Anyone with any information on the fire and what may have caused it can submit a newstip here.

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