PETERSBURG, Va. — Petersburg Fire Battalion Chief Chris Jones confirmed that six adults and 17 children were displaced after a Thursday morning fire damaged their apartment building.
Chief Jones said fire crews arrived at the Petersburg East Apartments on Navajo Court just after 2:30 a.m. as heavy smoke poured from the windows.
“We made an aggressive attack on the fire to prevent any further fire spread. The remaining units checked all the apartments and ensured all the occupants made it out safely,” he explained.
Chief Jones said the fire was contained to one apartment and the hallways.
Firefighters rescued two dogs from the flames.
Witnesses told CBS 6 that a woman jumped from a second-story window to safety. The woman was rushed to the hospital due to smoke inhalation, but she is expected to be okay.
“I spoke to her early on in the incident, and she denied having any issues. Of course, her adrenaline was up, and she was worried about her friends and family and so forth. She didn’t actually start having any respiratory distress until about an hour into the incident, and that’s when she was transported to a local hospital,” Chief Jones said.
Smoke detectors were working, and Jones said they saved lives.
Another witness said her nine-year-old daughter knocked on doors to wake up their neighbors.
The Red Cross arrived to help the 23 people displaced find somewhere else to stay.
The Petersburg fire marshal will determine the cause of the fire.
This is the same complex where Crime Insider sources tell Jon Burkett a man was shot Wednesday night.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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