Virginia Beach, Va - An unattended candle is to blame for a massive house fire in the 400 block of North Witchduck Road early Wednesday morning.
Dispatchers say the fire was reported around 5:30 a.m.
Firefighters arrived on scene to find heavy smoke and fire coming from the home. They were able to get the fire under control by 5:54 a.m. The fire was totally out by 6:30 a.m.
The family -- two adults and two children were able to safely escape before firefighters arrived.
They discovered the fire after one of the occupants woke up choking on smoke. All four are being taken to the hospital for treatment.
One firefighter also received minor injuries, according to Battalion Chief Brian Taylor.
The four residents will not be able to return to their home because of the extensive damage caused by the fire but do have family locally to stay with, the VBFD reports.
WTKR NewsChannel 3 has a crew at the scene and will release updates as they become available.
