NORFOLK, Va. — At least 32 people are without a place to stay after an apartment fire breaks out in Norfolk in the 7100 block of Sewells Point Road Tuesday afternoon.
Norfolk Fire responded to the call around 2:07 p.m. and arrived to find a heavy fire on the second floor which was spreading due to the high winds.
News 3's Leondra Head was on the scene late Tuesday afternoon and spoke with two people who say their units were destroyed. Daphine Wood, who's lived at Mira Mar Apartments since February, says the fire started in her apartment when she was cooking on her stove.
“Before I went to the bathroom, I had turned the grease on top of the stove and I heard a spark. Then I saw my house on fire. It’s a shortage in the stove and we’ve been telling them about it for a while,” said Wood.
Wood says she’s lost everything she owns in the fire and doesn’t know where her and her family are going to sleep tonight.
Watch: Good Samaritan climbs ladder to rescue people from burning building
Gabriel Journey happened to be driving by the apartment complex when he saw the flames. Journey quickly parked his car and jumped out to help residents escape.
"We saw a couple of people trapped on the second floor," said Journey. “I climbed the side of the building and we pulled out an elderly lady and her disabled son. Initially, the older lady was nervous and we were going to have her jump because it was only the second floor. Then we realized she wasn’t going to jump, too scared. That's when I climbed.”
An occupant was trapped in the fire and was rescued by crews. They were transported to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
No other injuries were reported.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
