A person died early on New Year’s Day after a house fire on Gately Avenue, and just hours earlier Richmond firefighters battled another serious residential blaze on Stege Avenue, rescuing a trapped resident, the Richmond Firefighters Local 188 union reported.
Just nine minutes into 2026, crews were called to the 5300 block of Gately Avenue where a two-story home was fully involved in flames. Firefighters made an aggressive interior push amid extreme heat and heavy fire conditions, bringing the fire under control in about 15 minutes. Sadly, a lone victim was found deceased inside the structure. The identity of the victim wasn’t immediately known.
Earlier on New Year’s Eve around 2 p.m., firefighters responded to a fire in a four-plex on the 500 block of Stege Avenue. One unit was heavily on fire when crews arrived. While some firefighters knocked down the flames, others rescued a resident who was unable to move and trapped in a smoke-filled neighboring apartment. The fire was kept to one unit, but adjacent homes suffered significant smoke damage.
