CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Javaid Reed's family is still processing what happened.
"Just trying to figure out where to go next with it," Reed said. "It's been twists and turns. Everything is just racing in your head at once."
Reed was on his way home from work Wednesday afternoon when his girlfriend called him about what was going on next door to their apartment at the Lake Village Apartments in Chesapeake.
"Somebody was banging on the door. As soon as she banged on the door, literally, all you see is smoke," Reed said. "She looked in the back, and everything is pretty much just up in flames. She couldn't grab any shoes. You could feel the steel. It's hot."
Wednesday afternoon, Chesapeake firefighters and police officers responded to a two-alarm fire at the complex that forced out eight families.
In total, 14 adults and four children, including a baby, were without a home.
Crews arrived at the scene at 3:23 p.m., and the fire was under control at 3:37 p.m. When they arrived they found fire blowing out a second-floor window and into the breezeway. A second alarm was called providing additional units for a fire attack. The fire extended into the attic space and damaged adjacent apartments.
The fire caused serious damage resulting in six apartments being affected by either fire, smoke, or water, and two other apartments without utility services.
News 3 was told the Red Cross is helping those who lost their homes.
Thankfully, no injuries were reported thanks to police officers and brave neighbors who helped Reed's family and others get out of the building.
"We had residents here actually in Lake Village Apartments who recognized that there was an emergency, and saw the fire," Capt. Steven Bradley of the Chesapeake Fire Dept told News 3. "They were willing to put themselves at risk, run up to the second floor and evacuate those apartments before we even showed up."
But neighbors taking action to help fellow neighbors and no injuries being reported weren't the only blessings Wednesday.
News 3's cameras caught another family displaced, an engaged couple set to get married this weekend. Someone found their wedding rings, in a charred box, untouched and ready for their big day.
"You can see we are really a huge community," Reed said. "Everybody has each other's back. That's just the blessing of us living out here."
As families figure out what's next, one thing still intact in this community is the bond between neighbors.
"There's always the potential for additional injuries, but in this case, we could say that there were lives saved," Bradley said.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
