COLONIAL HEIGHTS, Va. (WRIC) — Two children and their grandmother are in critical condition and eight people are displaced after a fire in their home in Colonial Heights.
According to the Colonial Heights Fire Department, crews responded to a report of a residential fire on the 1100 block of Covington Road at around 3:49 p.m. on Monday, May 15. When they got there, the crews found heavy fire at the staircase of the two-story home. The fire was marked under control by 4:16 p.m. Monday.
Three children and their grandmother were found inside the home. Two of the children and the grandmother are now at VCU Trauma Center, all in critical condition. The third child had no critical injuries.
A total of eight people were displaced in the fire.
Next door neighbor Keith Banks was outside doing yardwork when the blaze began, and at first didn’t not realize he was seeing the beginning of a devastating fire.
“I started seeing, like, smoke coming up from the roof,” Banks said. “And honestly, I thought it was a barbecue.”
But as the smoke grew, he realized someone may be in danger.
“It was like, very like, building up a lot more a little bit in the back and the sides,” Banks said. “And so and then just started rushing all the way to the top.”
The Colonial Heights Fire Marshal and Colonial Heights Police Department are working to determine the cause and origin of the fire. As of 11 p.m. on Monday night, crews are still on scene.
Anyone with information about this fire should contact Deputy Fire Marshal Jennings at 804-520-9376.
