‘I couldn’t stop screaming’: 2 children killed, 3 other family members injured in Chesterfield house fire
CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WWBT) - Two children were killed, and three other family members injured, after a large house fire in Chesterfield, early Monday morning.
Firefighters were called to the two-story home on Flynn Road in North Chesterfield just before 4 a.m.
Officials say one child died at the scene, and another died on the way to the hospital. A third child is currently in critical condition.
The adults inside were also injured, with the woman in critical condition.
A family member told NBC12 that a husband and wife live in the home with three children, all under the age of 10 years old. One of the children is said to be only about two months old. One of the children uses a wheelchair.
Thelma Lane, a woman who lives next door to the home on Flynn Road, considers herself a grandmother to those children.
On Monday morning, she woke up to the scene of heavy smoke taking over the home.
“It was like a dream. I couldn’t stop screaming,” Lane said. “I went outside and I was just totally screaming out of my mind.”
Lane says the child taken to the hospital in critical condition is a 10-week-old baby.
“They brought me the baby and the baby didn’t look too good,” she said.
Fire officials say the house is a total loss, and that heavy damage to the upstairs is hindering their investigation.
“There’s a lot of damage upstairs; the floors are unstable,” said Lieutenant Kenny Mitchell with Chesterfield Fire. “We’re going to have to stabilize the flooring to continue the investigation.”
Crews stayed on the scene for more than 10 hours as they completed their investigation.
“This is the hardest part of our job. Seeing this kind of destruction and families hurt like this,” Lt. Mitchell said. “This is extremely hard on us physically, emotionally, mentally.”
Diane Reap lives across the street from the house fire.
Reap says she didn’t hear what was going on but was devastated to learn two kids died from the house fire.
“I am heartbroken. I mean we’re praying for the family,” she said. “I just can’t imagine, and also praying for the first responders because imagine how that feels when you try to do your job and we’re just heartbroken.”
The identities of the victims have not been released.
Chesterfield Fire is still investigating the cause of the fire.
A GoFundMe page has been started by a family friend to support them through this tragedy.
A second GoFundMe page has also been started to support the mother of the two children killed.
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