CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va -- A church pastor and a Chesterfield police officer stepped up to help a family whose possessions were destroyed in a Tuesday morning house fire. When firefighters were called to the 1000 block of Turner Road at around 5:37 Tuesday morning, they found heavy smoke pouring out of the home.
Officials closed Turner Road after they responded because the fire hydrant was on the opposite side of the road as the burning home. Firefighters extended their hoses across the street. Portions of Turner Rd. were shut down for several hours, but it has since reopened.
All six people inside the home at the time of the fire were able to get out safely before fire crews arrived.
The home sits across the street from New Life Outreach International church where Carlos Rivera is the associate pastor. Rivera said he heard about the fire on the radio, and went across the street as soon as he got into work to see if he could help. Rivera said he spoke with the man who owns the home.
"Just very broken; just trying to figure out what his next move is going to be in the middle of the shock of having everything you have go up in smoke," Rivera said about the man's emotional state.
Two families of three were living at the home, and most of their belongings were destroyed in the fire.
New Life Outreach runs a thrift store and food pantry at the intersection of Turner Road and Hull Street and Rivera told the family to head over there when they got a free moment to grab whatever they needed. While on scene, Rivera said he saw a Chesterfield police officer pull out his wallet and hand the family cash to help them out.
Carlos Rivera
"He was so touched by the situation, he reached into his own pocket and gave them some money to try to get them to where they need to go," said Rivera. "I really believe that when people are in crises, there's a situation that is traumatic, I think that's really when the good in all of us should really come out."
Richmond fire crews also responded, since the fire was close to the Richmond-Chesterfield border. The fire was marked under control by 6:30 a.m. No firefighters were hurt. The cause of the fire remained under investigation, although the family said it looks like it started in the kitchen.
