Jan. 18--Three people are dead and four are homeless after a fire destroyed a Keswick home early Saturday morning.
The fire began on the second floor of the wood frame house on Carriage Trail Place that was split into two units, said Albemarle police spokeswoman Carter Johnson. Three people living on the second floor, a mother and two young children, were trapped inside the rapidly spreading blaze.
The children's father discovered the fire at about 1:30 a.m. when he came home from work, Johnson said. The man and a neighbor attempted to rescue his family from the second floor apartment, but were overwhelmed by smoke and heat, Johnson said.
East Rivanna, the closest fire company, was at another call at the time, Johnson said. It took the next closest unit 12 minutes to arrive.
Firefighters were able to recover the body of a juvenile male between the six and eight years old before the roof collapsed, said Deputy Chief John Oprandy. When fire crews were able to re-enter the building a few hours later, they found the bodies of a juvenile female between the ages of two and four and an adult female, Oprandy said.
Firefighters were still working on putting the fire out later Saturday morning, although the Oprandy said the blaze was under control. Johnson said they expected to leave the scene early Saturday afternoon.
The house, which sits on a 13-acre horse farm, is considered a total loss. The owners, Dan and Kristi O'Donnell, lived on the first floor with their son and leased the second floor to another family. The O'Donnells got out of the house safely.
Johnson said the names of the deceased will not be released until the remains are identified. The male occupant of the apartment was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center with non-life-threatening injuries. Johnson declined to identify him.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
This is a breaking news update. Read more in tomorrow's Daily Progress.
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Albemarle County fire officials are seeking the cause of a fire early Saturday morning that killed three people.
At about 1:30 a.m., one of the occupants of a building in the 800 block of Carriage Trail Place saw that his home was engulfed in flames. He attempted to rescue his family from inside the second-floor apartment, but was injured. He was taken to the University of Virginia Medical Center with minor injuries, fire officials said.
Firefighters were able to pull a juvenile male from the building before the roof collapsed. The juvenile was pronounced dead at the scene of the fire, officials said. An adult female and a juvenile female were recovered later.
Three people in the downstairs apartment were able to exit the building safely.
This is a breaking news update. Read more in tomorrow's Daily Progress.
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