A fire heavily damaged two townhome units in Richmond on Christmas Eve.
Two separate GoFundMe accounts (here and here) were launched to support the families whose homes were destroyed.
The fire occurred in the 3200 block of South Ridge Drive in Richmond’s Hilltop area at about 11:15 p.m., according to Richmond Firefighters Local 188, the union representing Richmond firefighters.
Thankfully no injuries were reported, but the damages were extensive. Crews arrived to find a roof and attic area of a townhome well-involved with fire. A second alarm was called to summon more resources to battle the blaze. While two Richmond fire crews fought the fire in the first townhome unit, Con Fire crews battled flames in another unit and also performed vertical ventilation from the roof.
The stubborn fire was brough under control within 30 minutes, officials said. A cause wasn’t immediately known. Fire officials posted video footage from the large fire on social meda.
While occupants of the units made it out without injuries reported, the losses were great, fire officials said.
Victims of the fire include the Rullier family, who reportedly resided in the unit neighboring the unit where the fire began.
“Luckily everybody was able to escape before the home was fully engulfed but there wasn’t enough time to grab any belongings,” according to the GoFundMe.
