Norfolk, Va. – Investigators say a candle that was left unattended in a bedroom is to blame for a fire that displaced six people.
It happened Friday night around 10:30 in the 1400 block of West Ocean Avenue.
Five units were unoccupied. Four of the 12 units inside of the building have fire or smoke damage.
Chloe Hathaway says she could see the fire on the second floor through her peep hole below.
“The flames were shooting like straight up in the air they singed the vinyl on this side and popped the woman’s windows out on this side,” says Hathaway.
Over 35 firefighters helped put out the flames. It took them an hour to get it under control.
The woman who lived in that unit where the fire started was taken to the hospital for smoke inhalation, but is expected to be okay. No one else was injured, and Hathaway accredits that to one of her neighbors who heard the fire alarm going off inside the woman’s unit.
“I feel very lucky, god had a part in it last night and they young man that lived next door he is the one that alerted everybody he was the one that was a hero at the complex last night he got everybody out, made sure everybody was okay,” says Hathaway.
The fire was so bad several people called 911 including Hampton Roads Bridge Tunnel workers who could see the flames shooting into the air.
Water and electricity had to be cut off at the complex, when our crew was on scene Saturday it still had not been restored.
