RICHMOND, Va. (WTVR) – Fire officials say an 82-year-old woman was killed in a high-rise apartment building fire Monday night in South Richmond.
The fire broke out just before 8 p.m. on the sixth floor of the Stonewall Pace Apartments in the 1900 block of Stonewall Ave. across from the Lee Bridge.
Richmond Fire Department's Lt. Robbie Hagaman said Tuesday that Grace E. Rush, of apartment 612, died in the blaze.
The victim's son said his mother was just weeks away from being transferred to an assisted living facility.
It took crews about 30 minutes to bring the incident under control, but not before it caused significant damage to Rush's apartment.
Firefighters immediately started evacuating the high-rise as they fought the flames. Some residents had already started evacuating to the lobby of a nearby building.
Once the fire was extinguished, firefighters found the woman's body in her apartment.
The Red Cross is assisting five residents who were displaced by the fire.
Fire investigators are still working to determine what sparked the blaze.
