All,
Sorry for the slow reply but I wanted to wait until I had time to sit down and type a bit of what happened. Some of this is pieced together and we'll figure things out more fully as time goes on.
This morning, George and Lee were in the house when they heard something in the basement/garage. George ran down to see what it was, ran back up to get a fire extinguisher, but apparently knew that wasn't going to be sufficient and yelled at Lee to get herself and the dogs out of the house. George managed to get one of their Jettas to safety as well as the XK120 (although it does have some cosmetic damage such as bubbling paint on the front). They lost their Miata, his Jetta wagon, and the Spitfire. At some point during the fire, the Spitfire's fuel tank exploded (his friend Lee suggested that the tank separated and with the fire already there, once the fumes escaped it went boom). A neighbor I talked with said it sounded like Fort AP Hill was testing. They unfortunately lost all their exotic birds, and the house looked nearly gutted but I can't be sure because I did not go in the house. The fire did start in the garage, and there were holes in the roof, and their house is fairly large/tall, so this was an extensive fire and likely a complete loss. Furniture, clothes, electronics, etc. can be replaced, but a lot of George's car paraphernalia and other collectible stuff will be tougher. Lee also had her collections of things she loved that are all gone, too.
The important part is that Lee seems fine, and George will get through this fine. He did suffer some 2d and 3d degree burns -- I did not see evidence of that, but I was told some were on his back (however when I visited for a few hours today he was on his back in the bed the whole time, so that may not be the case). He also has some burns in his throat. When I arrived with my son Carter, we hung out with Lee (his wife), Lee Kimble (his friend), and his neighbor Tim until they let us back to his room (he is in the ICU at MCV). When we saw him, I spoke with him to make him aware who was there and he did look at us and gave us all a thumbs up, but he is fairly heavily sedated and on a respirator, and we did not communicate beyond that. He'll be in there "at least" 24 hours, and in the hospital for several more days.
I plan to visit again tomorrow and will update as I learn more. They have very good neighbors who are going to put them up for the time being in an in-law suite. Once George is back on his feet, they do still have two driveable cars, but he also has access to his old Jetta that I bought from him. Really, the thing that would help best right now would be your thoughts and prayers. You can convey them on his FB wall, or feel free to send me any notes of encouragement and I'll bring them tomorrow to share with him (hopefully he'll be awake and aware tomorrow).
-Matt
bellsouth.net)