NORFOLK, Va. — The new year is off to a bad start for a dozen people in Norfolk after a recent overnight apartment fire.
Norfolk Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Damon Langley said it started early Friday morning on Green Leaf Drive and wasn’t easy to put out.
"We (fire crews) saw fire rolling out the front and the back of the house," explained Langley. "It took us a little bit longer to make sure we had the fire extinguished just because there were so many void spaces in the apartment building.”
Investigators are looking into what caused the fire. That includes what was found in one unit.
"The individual whose home caught fire had some oxygen tanks in the apartment and I'm thinking that's what fueled and fire and made it so intense especially on the second floor,” said Langely.
Norfolk Fire-Rescue said the fire started in one of the apartment units and damaged two others, impacting eight children and four adults.
Thanks to help from neighbors, no one was hurt.
“The person who lived in the apartment where the fire started was able to crawl out. They were wheelchair bound and the neighbors heard them asking for assistance they were able to get them to a safe place.”
Some tenants can return home soon. Until then, the coastal chapter of the Red Cross is offering help.
"We provide financial assistance, mental health assistance spiritual care. We also can replace any medical goods that may have been damaged or lost in the fire.”
Fire rescue says they are waiting on the Fire Marshall's Office to confirm the cause of this apartment fire.
