SUFFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – One person was critically injured in a fire that happened late Saturday night.
On February 18 around 11:01 p.m., Suffolk Fire and Rescue responded to a fire on the 100 block of Bosley Avenue.
When firefighters arrived, they saw heavy smoke coming from a two-story residential building.
They said they found the fire in the living room of the house, and it spread to the second floor. The first floor sustained heavy fire damage and the second has significant smoke and heat damage.
Two people were able to exit the residence before fire crews arrived. One person was taken to the hospital with critical injuries, and one pet was rescued from the second floor.
One neighbor said she’s lived in the same area for eight years and told 10 On Your Side the house has caught fire twice in the past three to four years.
“In the past there have been issues with that house with electrical issues. I mean, I went over there and saw them doing the work after the fact of the one time it happened. And there was one time I was told too that somebody left a burner on or something,” she said.
Although she lives a block away, she recalled seeing the emergency vehicles light up the neighborhood well until midnight.
“There were a lot of fire trucks, there was rescue, a lot of police activity as well. It blocked off from the corner of Smith and I think it’s Bosley to the corner of Gittings.”
Her house was built in the year 1900 and she said many other homes in the neighborhood are just as old, which makes unexpected fires more common.
“These old homes are tricky because whoever was here before you will tie an old knob and tube wiring into your more modern electrical and before you know it you’ve got something crimped underneath the floorboard, I’ve dealt with this believe me, and you get charred wood, and it could start a fire.”
She said checking your panel box is the most important thing to do, specifically for electrical fires.
The Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating what started the fire.
Continue to check WAVY.com for updates.
