NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Two people were injured and at least 32 people have been displaced as the result of a two-alarm fire Tuesday afternoon at an apartment complex on Sewells Point Road in Norfolk, an official with Norfolk Fire-Rescue said.
The Norfolk Fire and Rescue Battalion Chief said “due to the winds, the fire quickly escalated up into the attic area and then started moving across the building, started getting the exposure on the left hand side, we call it the Bravo side. We had crews go interior for that as well and were able to save that structure. This one here, though, it’s going to be a total loss, unfortunately.”
Photos that came into the WAVY newsroom Tuesday afternoon showed a dramatic apartment fire in Norfolk that had flames emitting from the roof, and a dramatic rescue from the second floor of one of the apartments there.
Gabriel Journey described the rescue to 10 On Your Side’s Deja Parker, saying his work in the Navy prepared him to lend a helping hand.
“The fire started in the bottom and had spread up, so they were trapped,” Journey said. “There was a group of about four other gentlemen that were there. I had them lift me up and I climbed up the side of the building and helped get her out. It’s what I trained [for] at work on a daily basis, so the number one priority was just getting as many people out as quickly as possible.”