CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. β Less than two weeks after a devastating apartment fire in Chester left 40 people without homes and most of their belongings, the community has mobilized to help those affected by the tragedy.
Lorie Lythgoe's son and his family were among the residents displaced by the January 8 blaze at the Waterside at Iron Bridge Apartments. She received the terrifying call at 2 a.m.
"Two o'clock in the morning and he called me and he's got a fire on his phone and he says, 'Mom look at the fire!' And I said, what? 'That's my apartment!' That's not a phone call a mother wants," Lythgoe said.
While Lythgoe says she's grateful that her family and everyone else made it out safely, the fire destroyed almost every belonging for many families.
Lythgoe's motherly instincts kicked in for her own family, but she knew she wanted to do more.
"Community service is important to me, it's part of my faith. I received a lot of help myself at a time of tragedy so I wanted to give back, and so many people turned out with my family that I got to thinking that maybe somebody else didn't have that support," Lythgoe said.
Lythgoe began organizing a donation drive and, as treasurer for the Chesterfield County Fair Grounds, she knew exactly where to find storage space.
"All the fair board got involved and it just grew and grew and grew," Lythgoe said.
Over the past few days, friends and neighbors have been collecting donations and reaching out to see what more they can do. Many residents, like Billie Dykes, understand the devastation fires can cause.
"When my husband was in high school, their house was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. They lost everything that they owned, so fire is scary," Dykes said.
The community response has been overwhelming, with multiple organizations stepping up to help.
"The Moose Lodge is contributing and there's a couple of churches that have called and they want to contribute. We have all those organizations willing to come out and help and we're grateful," Lythgoe said.
Donations are being accepted every night this week from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Chesterfield County Fairgrounds at 10300 Courthouse Road. This weekend, impacted families will be allowed to pick out the donations they need, and even have the items boxed and stored until a later date.
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