June 25--RICHMOND -- A woman and her 18-month-old son were severely burned in a Church Hill house fire this morning.
Richmond fire Lt. Robbie Hagaman said the first firefighters to arrive at 1221 N. 30th St. used a ladder to reach the child's mother, who had climbed from a second-story window onto a porch roof and was trying to re-enter the house but was rebuffed by flames.
Firefighters braved the blaze to rescue the child after they were told by the mother that the child remained inside, said Hagaman.
Hagaman said a woman came to Fire Station 11, about a block and a half away at 28th and S streets, to alert firefighters to the blaze about 7:40 a.m. Hagaman the station was in the midst of a shift change and that many firefighters simply ran to the fire as trucks rushed from the station. More than an hour later, more than 50 firefighters remained on the scene.
Water was put on the house immediately and it took less than 20 minutes to bring the blaze under control. Firefighters worked on the injured while awaiting ambulance crews that took the mother, 36, and son to VCU Medical Center.
The cause of the fire was not immediately reported. It is believed to have started in a second-story bedroom where most of the damage was confined, said Hagaman.
The house is located on a block of row homes, many of which appear to have been recently renovated.
(This has been a breaking news update. Check back for more details as they become available.)
Copyright 2013 - Richmond Times-Dispatch, Va.
