Large fire breaks out in Chesapeake apartments; 10 units damaged

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) — Several families were displaced after a large fire burned through the roof of a home in Chesapeake.

A total of 10 units at the Thrive Place Apartments on George Washington Highway at Gilmerton Road in the Deep Creek area were affected by fire, smoke and/or water damage, according to Capt. Steven Bradley of the Chesapeake Fire Department.

The fire broke out in a second-floor apartment at 1:11 p.m. Wednesday and residents of the original apartment were able to evacuate safely. The fire eventually spread into the attic and spread to adjacent units.

“Firefighters observed thick, black smoke coming from the second floor and roofline. They immediately installed large-diameter hose lines and began searching all eight residences,” Bradley said.

Helicopter 10 flew over the scene and saw firefighters using two ladder trucks to spray water on the roof. They also used several handholds from the ground.

One man was treated at the scene for minor burns, but no other injuries were reported. Firefighters credited working smoke detectors and a firewall for helping to limit the damage, as well as a firewall that prevented the fire from spreading to neighboring apartments.

“My roof is gone,” said resident Alexis Bardini. “There was smoke everywhere. I couldn’t even get into the parking lot.”

Bradley said the fire was widespread.

“So there was major fire damage to eight apartments. And then we had water damage to two second floor apartments on the other side of the firewall. “We were unable to stop the fire from spreading through the attic above the eight apartments,” Bradley said.

Bardini and Xavier Henderson said the fire destroyed their home and will take time to recover.

“Me, my son and my friend are fine,” Bardini said. “But we will still have to go a long way to get everything back. We'll have to wait and see what the Red Cross has. We have nothing. This was our apartment that we worked really hard for, so we lost everything.”

Henderson said: “I lost everything, so we literally invested everything.”

The Red Cross was dispatched to help those displaced. Meanwhile, the cause of the fire is still being investigated.

Check back for updates on this breaking news story.

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