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Ten displaced after West End apartment fire

Posted at 6:10 AM, Dec 28, 2013
and last updated 2013-12-29 08:08:22-05

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) -- Investigators are trying to figure out the cause of an apartment fire in Henrico's West End.

We're told fire crews responded to the 8700 block of Pellington Place around 2:30 Saturday morning.

When they arrived on scene crews reported fire coming from the bedroom window at the rear of the apartment building.

They were able to get the fire under control by 3:15a.m.

Henrico Fire says no one was home in the apartment where the fire started at the time of the fire and all occupants in the other apartments were able to make it out of the building uninjured.

CBS 6's Chelsea Rarrick spoke to the woman who lived in the apartment. She said she was in Florida at the time, and drove back after hearing the news.

Abel Opoku lives right next to the building where the fire happened. He was up late at night and heard a blast and saw fire coming out of the apartment window diagonal from his.

"I went outside just banging on the doors, trying to get everyone up, I had to cover my nose," said Opoku

Investigators say the apartment where the fire originated was the only apartment to suffer fire damage.

There was some smoke damage to the remaining apartments on the second floor and a small amount of water damage to the apartment below.

According to Henrico Fire, the apartments did have working smoke detectors that alerted the occupants of the other apartments to the fire.

"It could have been more ash that came to that room and it could have come to my parents," he said.

Six adults and four children were displaced by the fire and smoke damage.

Abel said he's glad to  hear no one was injured.

"I guess I was there for a reason. I just thank god that I was up because you never know what could have happened," said Opoku.

We're told apartment management is assisting the residents of the building with short-term relocation.