CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. -- Six people, including four children, have died and two others remain hospitalized after a three-alarm house fire in North Chesterfield early Friday morning, according to fire officials.
"Sadly, late last night the Chesterfield Fire Marshals office was notified that another child has died because of injuries sustained in this fire," fire officials said Saturday morning.
The four children killed ranged in age from 2-12 years old, according to firefighters.
Later Saturday afternoon officials said another adult, a woman, died of her injuries.
A grandmother died at the home Friday morning, sources told Crime Insider Jon Burkett.
"This tragic incident now has resulted in six deaths, two adult females and four children," officials said.
Family friend: Children were 'the most beautiful souls'
Two GoFundMe pages have been started to help the families impacted by the fire.
Cadence Johnson helped organize one of the pagesfor the mother of two of the children who died.
"To help her out, to help out the family in need," Johnson said. "To bury the kids, to help with the bills because they’re going to be out of work, so we wanted to get that started."
Johnson lovingly remembered the children.
"They were the most beautiful souls," she said. "They would say what was on their mind. They were just happy-go-lucky kids, they liked to sing, dance."
Another online fundraiserhas also been created for the families.
Burkett: 9 people were in home when fire started
A neighbor called 911 just after 12:10 a.m. to report a fire at a house in the 9900 block of Glass Road, according to Chesterfield County fire officials. The home is in the Mayfair Estates subdivision near the intersection of Courthouse and Hull Street roads.
When firefighters arrived, they were told multiple people were trapped inside the two-story home and went into rescue mode, according to Chesterfield Fire and EMS Chief Loy Senter. Nine people were inside the home when the fire started, Burkett said.
"Firefighters immediately began searches of the first floor assisted by the second and third arriving engine companies while at the same time an aggressive attack on the main body of fire was initiated," Senter said during a Friday morning briefing.
A second and third alarm were called due to the fact of the amount of people trapped inside.
Fire chief: Multiple victims found on 2nd floor
Senter said crews saw heavy fire on the first floor in the front of the home with "high heat and heavy smoke conditions throughout the first and second floors."
"Multiple other victims were located on the second floor and were removed by firefighters using ladders at the rear of the residence," Senter said.
Witnesses said they saw firefighters perform CPR on one individual, as well as pull a boy from the burning home.
Senter said one person died at the scene and eight others were taken to area hospitals. Since then five more people have died, including a woman and four children.
Two other victims remained hospitalized Saturday, officials said.
"We believe we're dealing with the blended family here," Senter explained. "And so we're trying to make sure that we've got the right person, the age, and a lot more has to be done as part of the investigation to be able to release that information."
The cause of the fire, which is believed to have started in a bedroom, remains under investigation.
Officials said they do not suspect foul play.
"Because it is an active investigation there will be some information that is known but cannot be released at this time," Senter said. "Our hearts go out to the families that have been impacted so deeply by this tragedy."
This is a developing story, so anyone with more information can email newstips@wtvr.com to send a tip.
