Two early morning fires in Port Haywood that destroyed a house and damaged a shed are under investigation by the Virginia State Police.

Mathews Volunteer Fire Department Chief Ricky Tomlinson said that firemen responded at 3:51 a.m. Tuesday to a report of a fire in an unoccupied house in the 4700 block of New Point Comfort Highway. When they arrived, the house was completely engulfed in flames, he said.

As about 20 volunteers worked to contain and extinguish the fire, a fireman noticed that a shed in the yard across the street, at the home of Franklin Smith, was on fire as well. Crews were able to extinguish that fire and save the shed, although there was some damage to its interior.

Tomlinson said that fire trucks from the New Point and Mathews were on the scene until around 7 a.m., while a truck from Cobbs Creek transferred to Station 1 for standby.
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