VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - One person is dead following an early-morning house fire in Virginia Beach.
According to the Virginia Beach Fire Department, crews were dispatched at 2:48 a.m. for reports of a multi-family residential structure fire at 141 Runaway Bay Drive. When crews arrived on scene, no fire was showing from the exterior, but there was an "odor of smoke" coming from the building.
Crews searched the apartments and found that a fire had occurred in apartment 206, with fire damage in the kitchen area and heavy smoke damage throughout the apartment.
Firefighters searched the building and located a 55-year-old Marilyn Yvette Exum inside her second-floor apartment where she was evaluated and determined to be deceased.
The damage was confined to apartment 206, and no other injuries were reported.
The investigation determined the cause of the fire and the death to be accidental.
The Virginia Beach Fire Department would like to remind everyone to check their smoke detectors to ensure they are working properly and to make sure that when cooking food it is always attended by a person.
