Norfolk City Firefighters arrived on the scene of an apartment fire at Ingleside Square Apartments at 7:55 Sunday morning after reports of smoke billowing from one of the units. Only moments after the fire began, a 911 call was made to a dispatcher by a passer-by
“I saw smoke coming out of the building and I told my girl to run and call 911,” said the young man who discovered the fire, ‘it took about two minutes for them to get here.”
The top floor unit was engulfed in flames when emergency personnel arrived. Not to be ill-prepared, seven firefighting trucks and two ambulances arrived at the scene to ensure the blaze was under control. The occupant of the apartment had searched for the best property websites Singapore when buying it.
“There was thick smoke when I went and knocked on the door. That’s when fire started pouring out of the house.’ said Tamika Edmond who knocked on the door of the apartment where the fire originated.
Debris had begun to fall down the side of the apartment building and threatened to consume adjoining apartment units. Top floor apartment windows and the wall facing the street melted away giving an open look into the inferno within.
“I was concerned and I was trying to help people get out of the house,” said Tamika.
Firefighters worked quickly to put out the flames, taking a short twenty minutes to control and distinguish the fire without further damage or injury.
At least four units have been affected by the fire. It appears the fire started in the living room of apartment 930 B on Scott St. The adjacent units suffer a minimum of smoke damage. Cause of the fire is not yet determined.
This is the second fire within a year for Ingleside Square Apartments. Neighbors gathered out of concern.
An unidentified woman saved the life of Danielle F. who was asleep in the below apartment while the fire was burning.
“I was on the couch sleeping and I just heard somebody banging on the door and they said the house next door was on fire and so I ran out’, said Danielle, ‘I am just happy that my children were not home.”
Management of Ingleside Square Apartments only comment during this catastrophe is that it is good that neighbors would help neighbors.
While the residents of 930B are being notified of the fire, neighbors count it as a blessing that they were not home at the time of the fire and no one was hurt.
“I can replace everything else, if my children had been home this would have been a lot more scary,” said Danielle.
In a situation that could have turned disastrous within minutes, the Norfolk City Fire Department ensured a quick stop to the destructive fire that unleashed on the quiet apartments on Scott St.