'All residents are out' after 3-alarm fire displaces dozens of seniors at Darby House apartments

Henrico County

Families rally to help seniors displaced by Darby House fire

A.J. Nwoko

HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — A three-alarm fire tore through Darby House senior apartments in east Henrico County late Saturday night, displacing more than 60 residents and sending at least four people to the hospital.

Firefighters were called to the 1400 block of Shirleydale Avenue, off Darbytown Road about two miles east of downtown Richmond, after an automatic fire alarm triggered just after 10:05 p.m., according to Deborah Cox with the Henrico Division of Fire.

When crews arrived, they found heavy fire coming from the back of the building, Cox said.

Sources told Jon Burkett that roughly 120 to 150 feet of the roof of the four-story building was lined with flames.

"We started triaging, putting the fire out, a lot of things going on at once, rescuing victims from the building and also trying to assess where the fire was," Henrico Fire Chief Douglas Clevert Jr. said.

Video shows flames shooting from roof of Henrico senior apartments

Dozens of residents were evaluated and treated by EMS personnel on scene.

Clevert said four residents were transported to the hospital for further evaluation. However, there were no life-threatening injuries to residents or fire personnel.

Clevert said dozens of rescues were made during the incident, complicated by the mobility needs of many residents.

"Just the nature of people being wheelchair bound, people not being able to walk down stairs, or just some people just lock up and freeze," Clevert said.

Henrico Police played a significant role in the evacuation effort alongside firefighters.

"[Officers] helping us get the residents — driving them to the bus. You see one of the police cars had a wheelchair on top of the car, just making sure we don't get them to the bus and they not have that," Clevert said.

WATCH: Henrico chief after Darby House fire: 'All residents are out'

Crews encountered multiple partial roof collapses and challenging interior conditions battling the fire.

Despite those hazards, Clevert said firefighters completed primary searches of all accessible areas of the building, starting on the fourth floor and working their way down.

"It's safe to say at this point all residents are out," Clevert said.

Fighting the fire in extreme heat added another layer of difficulty for crews.

Clevert said the Metro Richmond Flying Squad provided critical rehabilitation support for firefighters on scene.

"Going inside of a fire and then coming out to these conditions — providing us with rehab, food, snacks, cooling racks, misting fans, chairs to sit on, hydration from water and Gatorade — just different things to keep our folks going because this is strenuous on their bodies, especially in this weather," Clevert said.

WATCH: Henrico fire chief describes arriving to flames at Darby House

While feels-like temperatures were still around 80 degrees in metro Richmond around 11 p.m., Clevert said the timing of the fire, may have made a significant difference.

"If the same call would have come in today around 2 o'clock at the heat of the day, we may have had some different outcomes," Clevert said as feels-like temps in Richmond hit 115 degrees. "Very thankful for our personnel and the Metro Richmond Flying Squad for being able to take care of us."

Henrico is working to find temporary housing for displaced residents. GRTC buses were brought to the scene to get residents out of the heat and transport them to hotels, as many residents do not have their own vehicles.

The county is also coordinating with property management, the American Red Cross, GRTC and numerous local and regional partner agencies to provide temporary shelter, transportation, support services and other assistance to those affected.

SCENE VIDEO: 60-plus displaced after fire at Henrico senior apartments

Officials are still assessing the extent of damage to the building. The cause of the fire remains under investigation by the Henrico County Fire Marshal's Office.

Darby House, which opened in late July 2006, offers 108 "affordable" one and two-bedroom apartments for residents 62 and older.

This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.