HENRICO COUNTY, Va. — Firefighters rescued multiple people trapped on their balconies during a fire at the Broadmoor Apartments off of West Broad Street early Monday morning.
Henrico County Division of Fire Assistant Chief Doug Clevert said the call for the fire came in around 2:30 a.m. It started in the breezeway of one of the apartment buildings on Tanelorn Drive.
Several people had to be rescued from their balconies on both the front and back of the building. A pet dog also had to be rescued, officials said.
Two residents were taken to a local hospital for treatment of minor injuries.
Eight apartment units have been deemed unlivable at the time.
Henrico Batallion Chief Doug Reynolds says his team has already determined the cause of the fire was an unattended stove. The fire started in one of the units on the third floor and quickly spread to the breezeway and attic.
"Our leading cause of fire in Henrico County is the unattended stone," Reynolds noted. "And this was the case with last night's call.”
Reynolds wants to remind everyone to come up with a home escape plan.
"Do it for your apartment, do it for your house, you need to know two ways out of every room, and everybody in your house needs to know this," said the veteran firefighter.
Fire escape ladders can also can be a good option to help get out of a second or third story balcony or window and down to safety.
"You have two minutes to get out of a house or out of a building that's on fire from the time it starts, to the time it's going to get too dangerous to possibly get out, so it's a small window," noted Reynolds.
“It's kind of scary," said Duke Hawkins who lives in the complex along Tanelorn Drive. "It's definitely kind of, you know, disheartening to see that there's a fire, and I definitely want to know how it happened.”
For residents like Hawkins, Reynolds' advice is now top of mind.
"This definitely hits very close to home as you can see," said Hawkins.
Reynolds also noted apartments are required to make sure that smoke alarms are installed and working properly, so he said if you notice any issues with yours, be sure to contact maintenance immediately.
If you live in Henrico and need a working smoke detector in your home, fire crews will happily come out to your home to install one for free.
