HENRICO COUNTY, Va. -- A couple and their three children escaped their burning home early Monday morning in Varina. The fire started at the home along the 7200 block of Alvis Court, near Route 5 and the Pocahontas Parkway, at around 1:37 a.m. Firefighters arrived to find heavy fire and smoke coming out of the two-story home.
To complicate matters, a gas line connected to the home fueled the fire and reignited it a few times. Once the gas was turned off, it took firefighters about an hour to get the fire under control.
The family of five -- two adults and three children -- was able to make it out safely because of a smoke detector.
"Smoke detectors save lives," Henrico Fire spokesman Captain Daniel Rosenbaum said. "Check your smoke detectors on a regular basis to ensure they will work properly and change the batteries twice a year."
The cause of the fire remained under investigation Monday morning.
