CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. β An elderly couple died after a house fire just before midnight on New Year's Eve in Chesterfield County.
The Chesterfield Fire Department received a call for the fire at 11:51 p.m. Wednesday night on Featherstone Court, a few blocks from Robious and Huguenot roads.
The fire department said there was heavy fire coming from the home when they arrived and called for extra help. Firefighters took the couple from the home to a local hospital, but they died from their injuries.
Family members identified the couple as Dai Quach, 78, and Thuan Nguyen, 76.
Some family members said they had been at the home earlier in the evening but left about two hours before the fire.
Chesterfield officials said the cause of the fire remains under investigation.
A relative of the couple established a fundraiser to help with funeral expenses.
"My aunt and uncle, Thuan Nguyen and Dai Quach, were loving and generous people who touched the lives of everyone around them," wrote Thao Huynh.
Neighbor reacts
Jerome Jeter, who lives across the street, said he had been outside about five or 10 minutes earlier and noticed a glow coming from the house.
"I seen light, like somebody was burning like a pit," Jeter said. "My gut said just monitor it. So I just monitored it. Then I'd say the next three minutes, I seen the flame up. And it was high β and I was like, 'Nah, that's not right.'"
Jeter said his fiancΓ© called the fire department while he and another neighbor knocked on doors to alert residents.
"Whole back was lit up," Jeter said. "Then about that time, I got away from it and fire people got here. Right where the top of the house, that part started flaming up. And I was just saying, I just hope that they get whoever's in it out."
Neighbors said this isn't the first time something like this has happened in the area. A house two doors down has just finished being rebuilt after a deadly fire in December 2023.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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