The Associated Press
RICHMOND, Va. -- Fire broke out at a retirement home complex early Monday, killing two women and injuring 11 other residents, fire officials said.
Several of those taken to hospitals suffered life-threatening injuries, Richmond Fire Marshal Keith Vida said. One man was in critical condition Monday night.
The fire was the third fatal blaze in that building in 28 years. One woman died in 2001 and two in 1978. The building has alarm systems but no water sprinklers, which are not required because of a grandfather clause.
At least one loud boom preceded the fire, officials and residents said. Authorities said they hadn’t determined the fire’s cause.
The blaze began in an apartment on the fifth floor of the nine-story building and quickly spread to the apartment above, Vida said. All of the more than 200 residents of the building were evacuated.
It took about three hours to bring the blaze under control, officials said. About 200 firefighters and emergency services workers were sent to the scene.