HENRICO COUNTY, Va. (WTVR) - A faulty chimney caused a two-alarm apartment fire in Henrico's West End that left dozens of people homeless Friday night.
The fire started in a chimney that was used by multiple apartments according to Henrico Division of Fire Capt. Doug Reynolds. He said that a "chimney failure" led to the fire and that the fire has been ruled accidental.
The fire damaged 20 units of the Breckenridge Apartments located in the 4000 block of Mineral Springs Lane The apartments are located along Gaskins Road between Broad Street and Springfield Roads.
Fire crews tell CBS 6 News when they arrived, they saw flames shooting from the roof of one building, and some people were still inside. They immediately evacuated the building.
They say as they were clearing the area, part of the roof collapsed, making one unit too unstable to enter. No one was found in that unit and no injuries were reported during the fire.
The manager of the complex told CBS 6 News reporter Sandra Jones late Saturday morning that 30 people have been displaced. The manager said those displaced are staying in local hotels and hopes to have them in other units on the property by the end of the week.
Click here to see fire video posted to the CBS 6 Facebook page.
