HANOVER COUNTY, Va. -- An Ashland family is mourning the loss of a loved one. Roy Mattox, Jr., 63, died early Saturday morning, according to his family, when the house he lived in along the 10000 of Ashcake Road caught fire.
"He is a very loving man. He's very kind. We obviously love him," Mattox's niece Shavonda Guilford said. "He's very loved. He's very funny. He is a very caring person and we all grew up very close with him."
Guilford said her grandfather (Roy Mattox, Jr.'s father) was home with Mattox when the house caught fire. She added another uncle and his girlfriend were inside the house as well, but were able to escape.
"It was very traumatic. My grandfather was sleeping on the couch and he woke up and he saw flames and smoking. He couldn't breathe. He couldn't see anything," Guilford said. "He wasn't able to carry my uncle [out of the home]. My grandfather fell and he barely made it out of the house himself."
Guilford said her uncle lived with Down Syndrome and the family couldn’t get life insurance for him.
The family is now trying to cover the costs of his burial and rebuilding the home for her grandfather.
"We do Thanksgiving every year in this house, we do Christmas in this house, like, this house is like a part of our essence as a family," Guilford said. "This is just a structure. And hopefully, even though those memories are gone, we still will have the memories we have in our heads and cherish each other."
Guilford said her close-knit family will do what they've always done.
"We'll all come together and talk and just be together. That's how we usually cope, just being a family and coming together as much as possible," she said.
The fatal fire was reported at 4:48 a.m. Saturday.
"Upon arrival at 4:54 a.m., crews found a single-story home heavily involved with fire. Immediately, our crews initiated rescue efforts for the victim. While performing rescue efforts, one occupant was found who had succumbed to their injuries," a Hanover Fire spokesperson wrote in a weekend update about the fire. "During the rescue attempt, two firefighters sustained minor injuries and were transported to a local hospital and have since been released."
The Red Cross helped three adults and two children impacted by the fire.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation.
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
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