NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — One person was seriously injured and two others, including a firefighter, suffered non life-threatening injuries in a house fire on Courtney Avenue on a icy Friday morning, Norfolk Fire-Rescue said.
“I just heard somebody out here screaming, ‘Help, help them, the house is on fire,” said neighbor Tracey Montfleury, who lives across the street. “Then we looked out the window, and we heard him say like, ‘Help me, help me,’ and we just called 911.”
Crews arrived to the 1200 block of Courtney Avenue after a call for a fire around 8:30 a.m. They found heavy fire on the second floor of a two-story home. Firefighters rescued one victim from the front porch roof and a second victim from inside on the second floor.
The fire also spread to the attic of a house next door. Norfolk Fire-Rescue crews conducted successful interior fire attacks on both houses.
A man named Mike lives in the house and is the uncle of Terry Sharp’s wife. 10 On Your Side asked what he knows about the man who lives with Mike.
“Well, I can’t tell you much about him,” Terry Sharp said. “I didn’t know him that well. I just heard he was a paraplegic, and Mike was taking care of him.”
Norfolk Fire Rescue reports firefighters rescued Mike from the front porch roof, but the disabled person Mike was taking care of apparently couldn’t get out of the house.
He was treated and taken to the hospital with life-threatening injuries, while Mike went to the hosptial with non life-threatening injuries, as did a firefighter.
The fire also spread to the attic of a house next door.
Montfleury was happy she did something when she saw house on fire and called 911.
“Don’t ignore everything,” she said. “It may not be your business, but it has to be your business. You know, we have to care for one another. That is what life is all about.”
Norfolk Fire-Rescue Battalion Chief Glen Williams said that, as of 5:15 p.m., all three victims remain in the same condition. The firefighter had minor injuries.
No cause of fire has yet to be determined, but it is under investigation, and there were no working smoke detectors in the apartment.
The Red Cross has been notified to assist the displaced residents. The cause of the fire is under investigation.