CHESAPEAKE, Va. — (Editor's note: The video above is about a different fire in Chesapeake which happened a few days ago.)
It was a minor fire by most standards, but a small blaze in an apartment in Chesapeake left one person injured and residents of 30 apartments displaced, at least temporarily.
According to a spokesperson for Chesapeake Fire and Rescue, this fire was reported shortly after 1:30 p.m. in an apartment in the Herons Landing complex in the 2100 block of South Military Highway. This is in the Portlock section of the City.
When firefighters arrived on the scene, there were no outward signs of a fire, but they were told the fire was in an apartment on the third floor of the building. All the residents of that building had already self-evacuated by this time.
When firefighters entered the apartment in question to investigate, they discovered that there had been a small fire in the unit's kitchen, but it had already been put out by the building's sprinkler system. The occupant of that unit was found to have received some minor injuries from the fire and was taken to a nearby hospital to be treated.
Unfortunately for many other residents, when the sprinkler system activated, it caused significant damage to 30 out of the 57 units in the apartment building. Besides water damage, the fire department spokesperson said the water "compromised' the electrical systems in those units, so they couldn't be immediately reoccupied.
Heron's Landing is managed by Virginia Supportive Housing, and provides housing for individuals who have been formerly homeless. They are reportedly working to relocate all of the affected residents, and the spokesperson said no assistance was needed from the Red Cross.
The cause of the fire was determined to be accidental.