RICHMOND, Va. β A 70-year-old woman and a 10-year-old boy were killed after a house partially collapsed during a fire Saturday morning in Richmond's East End.
The victims were identified as Rosa Marie Ross and Kareem Londell Swann. A third family member escaped and is recovering at a hospital from smoke inhalation.
Firefighters were called to the two-alarm fire at a home in the 1100 block of North 22nd Street in the Fairmont neighborhood just after 8:50 a.m., officials with the Richmond Fire Department said.
Crews worked to control the flames that damaged two nearby homes. The fire spread quickly between houses, according to neighbor Brandon Joswick.
"It just looked like it was spreading pretty quickly to the houses on the left and on the right," Joswick said. "The fire department was kind of scrambling to get everything under control."
After conducting search and rescue operations, firefighters found Ross on the first floor following a partial collapse of the building. She was pronounced dead at the scene. Swann's body was discovered on the second floor.
"Unfortunately, two family members became fatalities because of the fire," said Cruz Sherman, a Richmond Police chaplain.
The house remained standing but was a total loss. Thick smoke filled the street like dense morning fog as emergency lights pierced through gray plumes while firefighters worked to suppress the flames.
Throughout the afternoon, representatives from Henrico Board of Supervisors and Richmond City Council arrived to offer condolences and support to the family. The Red Cross also provided assistance.
"It's a collective effort and it takes a whole village," said Charles Willis with United Communities Against Crime. "This is the village that we talk about to support this family."
After the fire was extinguished, Richmond Fire and Police allowed the family to come closer to their recovered loved ones, providing some immediate closure during the tragedy.
"I've never seen it one like that before. To allow the family to come a little closer to the loved ones that they brought out. That really was touching for a lot of folks," Willis said.
Sherman described it as one of his worst days on the job, but was reminded of the community's strength during difficult times.
"When you have loved ones that have to go through this kind of tragedy, it impacts us all," Sherman said. "Our role here is to make sure that we're taking care of the family as much as possible in a very difficult situation."
Neighbors have organized an online fundraiser to help the family recover from their losses. The Richmond Fire Department is investigating the cause of the fire.
This is a developing story. Email the CBS 6 Newsroom if you have additional information to share.
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