PORTSMOUTH, Va. — A community in Portsmouth is shaken and questions surround how a fire started at the Charlestowne Condominiums off of Greenwood Drive Wednesday.
The fire sent seven children to the hospital.
Portsmouth Battalion Chief Chris Riley said firefighters rescued two children from the second floor. Five others escaped on their own before firefighters arrived.
On Thursday, many neighbors in the community said the townhome that caught fire was being used as a child daycare business.
“It was a licensed daycare. She was a great provider. She actually taught the kids. They weren’t just at home running around the house. It was just unfortunate what happened," Durrell Skeeter, a neighbor, said.
Skeeter said he saw the children before the home caught fire.
Another fire also happened on Wednesday in Suffolk on Smith Street. First responders pulled two children from that home.
Elizabeth Earley, a spokeswoman for the Children's Hospital of King's Daughters, sent an update on the conditions of the children.
"Four of the 10 fire victims brought to CHKD from Suffolk and Portsmouth fires the afternoon of April 13 are in the intensive care unit of CHKD as of noon April 14. The rest are in general care units. We have no additional information to release," Early said.
The Portsmouth Fire Marshal is investigating the cause of the fire.
13News Now reached out to Portsmouth city leasers to see if the daycare is licensed. They have not replied to our request. In addition, the Commissioner of the Revenue in Portsmouth declined to comment at this time.