PORTSMOUTH, Va. - Firefighters in Portsmouth say one woman died and two children are in critical condition following a duplex fire late Friday night.
According to a release from the Portsmouth Fire Department, crews were called to Neville Street a little before 10 p.m. That's in a neighborhood off Portsmouth Boulevard and Rodman Avenue.
"I started hearing crackling and I immediately knew something was wrong," said Daesha Wilson, who lives next door. "I just flung my front door open and there was just black smoke everywhere and flames shooting out of the windows."
Wilson says she called 911. Firefighters tell News 3 they arrived to flames coming from the home and three people — two adults and a child — who had already escaped.
However, another three people — a woman and two children — were still inside. Firefighters say they got them out, and all six in the home were taken to the hospital.
Sadly, the woman who was inside the burning home when firefighters arrived didn't survive. The two children rescued are in critical condition, firefighters say.
Wilson describes the woman who passed as a good neighbor who she could count on, and says she's thinking about the children.
“She has a daughter and I have a daughter who is the same age. My daughter was not here and I’m thankful for that, but my heart hurts," she told News 3 in tears. "I really, really hope that those babies are okay because that’s all I was thinking about when I saw the flames. We have kids. We are mothers. We are all mothers in this unit.”
According to the release, the Red Cross is now assisting the survivors, with the home considered unlivable.
Crews from Norfolk, Suffolk and Chesapeake assisted Portsmouth in putting out the flames. Fire Marshals are now investigating to figure out what caused the fire and if the home had working smoke detectors.
