HAMPTON, Va. (WAVY) — Two firefighters were among the four people injured after a massive two-alarm fire damaged 12 condominiums and displaced 20 people in a Hampton community Friday afternoon.
Firefighters arrived after getting the call for a fire around 12:25 p.m. and found heavy smoke and flames from the second and third floor of the building.
Crews were challenged by the narrow street getting to the nearly 40-year-old building, which did not have a sprinkler system in it. They went inside the building at the Pine Cone Harbour condominium community, located along the Hampton River, to fight the fire, but had to retreat due to a roof collapse.
“They immediately went on an aggressive interior attack,” said Battalion Chief Anthony Chittum with the Hampton Division of Fire & Rescue, “but then had to back out of the structure due to the partial roof collapse.”
Residents described flames reaching 15 feet in height.
Glenn Cox, who lives on the opposite side across from the building on fire, said he looked out the window of his bedroom and saw the flames going up to the roof.
“I saw the flames going up through the roof,” Cox said. “Main area where the flames were coming up, and then within a few minutes, there were 10, 15-foot flames coming out from the roof. … Pretty devastating.”
Kenisha Sumner’s mother was inside of their condo when the fire was raging right above their unit.
“I answer the phone and my mom is screaming, and of course, my heart drops,” Sumner said. “The firemen got her out of the house, in her nightgown — no shoes no purse, no identification, no money, so we’re just trying to pick up the pieces.”
Two people, one of whom was rescued from the fire, along with two firefighters, were taken to two different hospitals to be evaluated. One of the firefighters has since been treated and released from the hospital.
NOTE: The above video, courtesy of Doug Hall, shows the fire on Island Cove Court.
“Knowing that somebody has lost part of their life, if not all of their life, in this one moment, it’s crazy, ” a nearby resident said, “’cause you probably bump into them, and you’re probably going to hear about it and see it. Because it’s a small community, I’m hoping we’ll be bound together and do something. But it’s disheartening.”
Several WAVY-TV 10 viewers sent photos from the scene, showing heavy flames and smoke coming from the roof of the building.
A video of the scene captured by Doug Hall showed several firetrucks nearby and smoke billowing into the air.
While the wind off the water did not play as much of a factor in the fire, according to Battalion Chief Anthony Chittum with the Hampton Division of Fire & Rescue, the street by the building did.
“The most challenging part of this particular [fire] is actually just the street itself, where it’s on,” Chittum said. “If you look, you’ll notice that it’s extremely narrow, so we actually weren’t able to get as much equipment in as we needed, so we actually used more personnel on the ground than we did aerials.”
A news release later in the day noted that the fire was further driven from heavy wind from the waterfront.
The Pine Cone Harbour condominiums were built in 1986, according to Hampton city records, and were not required at the time to have sprinkler devices. At that time, the building code did not require them.
The cause of the fire has yet to be determined.
Crews were expected to stay on the scene for “some time” to address hot spots by applying a special foam to limit rekindling and also salvaging residents’ property. The Technical Recue Team is also at the scene to shore up the building at different points to reduce the risk of any further collapse.
16 of the 20 residents have requested assistance from the Red Cross. The Red Cross will assign caseworkers to find out the displaced occupant’s additional needs, such as financial assistance or help replacing items lost in the fire. They are connecting residents with local organizations that can aid them and working with apartment management teams to get them a home quickly.
The Newport News Fire Department and Norfolk Fire-Rescue backfilled Hampton’s fire departments while the city’s Division of Fire & Rescue battled the blaze.