Explosion, fire on Chapel Road

ARVONIA — An explosion and two-alarm fire all but destroyed a barn in Buckingham County on Monday evening.

The explosion and fire at 1359 Chapel Road — connecting Cartersville Road to U.S. Route 15 in northeastern Buckingham — was reported at 5:45 p.m.

“They don’t have any idea what the explosion was,” said Arvonia Volunteer Fire Department President and 2nd Lt. Steve Toney, noting he received numerous reports of the loud boom.

The structure was an open barn that had been closed in as a shop on one end. There were propane and other tanks holding fuel in the building, he said.

Volunteers from Dillwyn Volunteer Fire Department also responded.

“It didn’t burn it all the way to the ground,” Toney said. “We’re just lucky we got it knocked down.”

Flames were shooting through the roof of the structure when crews first arrived on scene, he said. “We don’t have any idea what caused it,” he said.

Crews were on scene for about two hours, according to Toney.