By Lauren King and Cindy Clayton
The Virginian-Pilot
NORFOLK, Va. — A Habitat for Humanity house that was the home to two families in the past decade was destroyed in a fire determined to be arson. Its brick foundation and some shrubs were all that was left Tuesday night.
“We’re devastated,” said Sheila Johnson, a spokeswoman for Habitat for Humanity of South Hampton Roads.
When firefighters arrived at the home in the 300 block of W. 29th St. about 4:40 a.m., they found the structure engulfed in flames, Battalion Chief Harry Worley said. They stretched out hoses and went to the back of the home to see if they could get inside, Worley said. Because of heavy flames, they had to fight the blaze from outside the home.
The heat melted siding on a house next door and covered it with soot, but firefighters kept the flames away.
The blaze was under control by 6:20 a.m. No injuries were reported.
A woman had been living there with her daughter for less than a year but moved out a few weeks ago because of concerns about increasing crime in Park Place, Johnson said. The night before the fire, the mostly empty house was reportedly burglarized.
It was too early to know whether the house will be rebuilt. Habitat for Humanity has built several homes in Park Place.
“We are saddened by the amount of volunteer hours and donations that were funneled into this home, and to have it destroyed breaks our heart,” Helen Sommer, executive director of the South Hampton Roads agency, said in a news release.
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