By Ryan Murphy
The Daily Press
NORFOLK, Va. — A blaze early Saturday morning in Norfolk claimed the life of an infant and left two other people displaced, according to a release from Norfolk Fire-Rescue.
Fire and rescue responded to the fire around 6:08 a.m Saturday morning on the 800 block of Little Bay Ave. Firefighters arrived within 5 minutes to find heavy smoke and flames visible, according to the release.
Smoke was coming out of all the windows of the two-story duplex apartment. Two occupants were able to get out, but one of them said her child, an 8-month-old boy, was still trapped in a bedroom. The woman had attempted to rescue the boy, but the heat and smoke drove her out of the structure, according to the release.
Firefighters battled the blaze while some of them searched for the child. When they found the boy, he was already deceased. It took firefighters more than 40 minutes to bring the fire under control.
Fire consumed the first floor of the duplex and heavily damaged the second floor. The outside of the condominiums next door to the duplex were also damaged by fire and the residents were evacuated, but were able to return. The two occupants were displaced.
Early reports indicate that electrical space heaters were being used in the home and it’s unknown if the building had working smoke detectors. The Norfolk Fire Marshal’s Office and Norfolk Police are investigating the fire.
___
(c)2015 the Daily Press (Newport News, Va.)
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC