Secluded setting impeded firefighters at Jimmy Dean home

From its half-mile-long driveway to its stunning, panoramic view high above a broad section of the James River, country-music legend Jimmy Dean’s Chaffin’s Bluff home has a lot to offer.

But both amenities proved a nightmare for dozens of Henrico County firefighters who worked well into this morning to extinguish a fire that destroyed or severely damaged as much as 75 percent of Dean’s Varina-area home off Osborne Turnpike.

Dean and his wife escaped the home unharmed, authorities said.

“We believe the fire started in the basement in the mechanical area,” said Henrico fire Capt. Chris Buehren, describing the fire as accidental. Investigators have not determined a specific origin, he said.

The fierce blaze left three firefighters with minor injuries, one of whom was hospitalized overnight for heat-related problems.

Buehren said that the nearest fire hydrant to the home is more than a mile away and that the single-lane drive had to be kept clear so that three tanker trucks could be shuttled back and forth to the house.

Buehren said the most accessible water supply was from the James River at Osborne Turnpike Public Boat Landing, which is about 2 miles away.

“We had an unlimited supply of water, but there were many other elements to deal with,” Buehren said of the firefighting effort that began last night about 8.  Some units remained on the scene until 4 this morning.

Though the James is a long stone’s throw from the Deans’ back door, the steep bank would have made it nearly impossible for firefighters to negotiate or run hose to the river, according to Buehren.

Dean, 80, and his wife of 17 years, Donna Meade, were not available to the news media today.

They apparently are remaining on the property, which has a number of livable dwelling units that are not attached to the main house.

A poolside cabana was not damaged, Buehren said.

Buehren said it is not unusual in the Richmond area to find areas not served by hydrants; nor is there an ordinance requiring them in sparsely populated areas.

Dean’s home is in the 1100 block of River Bend Road, about 4 miles south of Osborne Turnpike’s intersection with state Route 5; it sits above a bend on the north bank of the river.

Buehren said the construction of the home made the fire difficult to contain. Its “balloon” construction system creates unobstructed pathways that allowed flames to travel upward through wall studs. There also were many inaccessible areas, or void spaces, created by overlapping roof lines and architectural features.

No damage estimate was available today.

Dean is a legend among country-music fans and settled in the Richmond area after he married Donna Meade.

He is best-known for “Big Bad John,” a 1961 narrative, Grammy-winning song about a coal miner who saves fellow workers when the mine roof collapses.

He founded a sausage company in 1969 that he sold to Sara Lee Corp. in 1984. 

Contact Bill McKelway at (804) 649-6601 or . 