RICHMOND, Va. -- One person was pronounced dead and another person was taken to the hospital following a house fire early Friday morning in South Richmond.
Firefighters were called to the 1300 block of Decatur Street, not far from Hull Street and Route 1, at about 4:40 a.m.
Shykim Dyer, 31, said her grandparents, Carolyn Adams and Tyrone Webb, lived inside the two-story house on the corner of East 14th Street and Decatur Street for nearly 30 years.
“They are the grandparents of the block,” she explained. “Everybody called them Grandma and Grandpa.”
Dyer said a family member who lives around the corner saw smoke Friday morning and called 911 just after 4:40 a.m. Firefighters arrived within 5 minutes, but it took nearly 20 minutes to get her grandparents out of the house.
“There was fire on the front porch, and it also obviously extended a good ways into the first floor,” Richmond Fire assistant chief Todd Struill said.
Rescue crews rushed Adams to the hospital, Webb was pronounced deceased at the home.
“I just prayed on my way over here to just give us strength to get through this,” Dyer said. “It’s a hard thing to deal with.”
The man known as Papa leaves behind several children, seven grandchildren and 14 great grandchildren.
“I'm going to be sad because it's going to be hard for the kids,” Dyer said. “They look forward to coming and saying Papa and him giving them snacks and stuff, so it's sad."
Webb and Adams were inseparable, according to family members.
“She can’t leave him alone,” Dyer said. “She ain't leaving.”
Family members said their grandmother is responding to care in the hospital, but they’re worried about how she’s going take the news her husband is gone and their old green house on the corner may no longer be safe to call home.
“She’s going to show us she’s strong today,” said Dyer.
Richmond Fire has not determined the cause of the fire, but the family told CBS 6 they believe the fire was caused by a space heater that was in the downstairs living room.
Coincidentally, the firefighters who responded to this call also battled a 3-alarm fire in the 900 block of E. Main Street Thursday afternoon.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
