CHESAPEAKE, Va. — An apartment fire at Great Bridge Apartments on Edna Street in Chesapeake last week damaged eight units and left 14 people without homes just days before Thanksgiving. Among the chaos and pain, the displaced residents are finding strength in community support, and leaning on each other for hope.
News 3 was at the fiery scene on November 14 when Ryan Smiley and his wife, along with 12 of their neighbors, came home from work that afternoon to see their apartments up in flames. Chesapeake Fire Department investigators say the cause of the fire is undetermined. All 14 neighbors and their pets made it out safely, though one neighbor suffered a heart attack during the fire and was hospitalized. Smiley says that neighbor is doing much better now and is no longer in the hospital.
"I found my wife's wedding dress on our bed, just piled a bunch of clothing. And, thankful that, while we may not have that, we still have each other," Smiley said.
The emotions were overwhelming for residents who watched fire crews respond to their burning homes.
"Immediately panic and wonder, to know if everybody was okay. It has been a lot of unknown, and a lot of pain," Smiley said.
Despite the emotional trauma and destroyed items, Smiley remains focused on what matters most.
"The biggest thing for us is, nobody died, being thankful that the dogs are okay, being thankful for the community support that we've had," Smiley said.
At the center of that community support is Smiley's downstairs neighbor and Chesapeake native, Wendy McDougal, who has launched an initiative called "Rebuild Hope for Edna Street."
"My daughter and I, we're gonna be okay. We can rebuild and we can keep going. It's not about us. It's about the whole community as a whole. I just want to try to pay it forward and help everybody else," McDougal said.
McDougal shared her mission with News 3 at the "Let's Talk" event at the Great Bridge/Hickory YMCA in Chesapeake earlier this week.
"The goal is to get monetary support that will be distributed evenly to all the residents," McDougal said.
In addition to monetary donations, McDougal said she is also accpeting physical donations for the apartment fire victims such as furniture, dishes, clothes, shoes, toiletry items and more. The ages of the people affected range from their early 20s to senior citizens. McDougal herself, is wearing clothes donated from neighbors because most of her clothes were not salvageable.
Even though McDougal and her daughter lost about 80% of their belongings from smoke damage, she's turning pain into positivity.
"'Rebuild Hope for Edna Street' is simply a way of trying to give back to everyone that was impacted," McDougal said.
Her message to the community is clear as the holidays approach.
"It's the holidays. Everyone is gonna struggle. Step up. Let's see what we can do. Let's see what we can show the state of Virginia, how well this community can rally to help people out," McDougal said.
If you want to donate any physical items, you can email McDougal at fiftyfine68@gmail.com. For monetary donations, you can visit the fundraiser page here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
