VA Apartment Fire Claims 3 Lives

Three people were killed in an apartment fire just before 5 a.m. Thursday in Newport News, the city’s Fire Marshal’s Office said later in the day.

The Newport News Fire Department responded to a 911 call about a blaze in an apartment complex in the 600 block of Collinwood Place, off Warwick Boulevard in Denbigh.

“Firefighters arrived to find a fire in a second floor apartment with three victims inside the residence,” said a press release Thursday afternoon from Acting Chief Fire Marshal Jeffrey Senter.

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Firefighters got them out, Senter said, but “all three died from their injuries.”

In an interview Thursday afternoon, Senter said one of the victims died at the scene and two died at the hospital. He said the State Medical Examiner’s Office will determine the exact cause of death.

Senter said the victims appeared to have tried to flee the burning apartment. “I can comfortably say that I think people were trying to get out,” he said. “But otherwise, that’s that’s all I can say right now.”

Senter declined to reveal the names or ages of the three victims, and would not say whether they are adults or children.

The Fire Marshal’s office hasn’t been able to reach the victims’ next of kin, he said. “I just don’t want somebody to find out about the circumstances who we haven’t been able to locate yet,” Senter said.

The Fire Marshal’s Office is still investigating the cause of the fire. While Senter said the fire appears to have been accidental in nature rather than suspicious, he declined to say what investigators believe set off the blaze.

“We’re still following up on a couple of things before we make a final determination,” he said. “I don’t want to make any final calls yet until my guys have a chance to get everything sort of knocked out.”

Though some fires over the years have begun with Christmas lights or decorations, Senter said this blaze “had nothing to do with Christmas decor.”

“It’s sad,” Senter said of the triple fatality two days before Christmas. “I’ll tell you what, it’s really unfortunate.”

Senter wrote in the news release that the Fire Department is planning a fire safety walk in the neighborhood early next week.

He urged residents to have working smoke detectors on each level of a home, inside bedrooms and outside sleeping areas.

Residents who would like a free smoke alarm can call the Fire Marshal’s Smoke Alarm Hotline at 757-975-5454.

Peter Dujardin, 767-247-4749, [email protected]

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