Richmond Fire crews battled a house fire in the 00 block of Willway Avenue in the city's west end Tuesday afternoon.  Fire units arrived just after 2 o'clock and found heavy smoke and fire coming from the home's second and third floors.  Ladder trucks were used to apply water through the roof of the structure and the blaze was marked under control after 20 minutes.  The home owner was away on vacation when the fire occurred and there were no injuries.  Temperatures in Richmond hovered around 90 degrees at the time of the blaze and the fire department supplied coolers filled with ice and cold drinks for exhausted fire crews.  The cause of the fire has not been determined.

At 3:23 Thursday morning, Richmond fire crews were called to S. B. Cox, a demolition/removal company in the 5200 block of Hatcher Street.  When they arrived, firefighters found one building ablaze and witnessed several explosions.

"The explosions, we believe, were from acetylene tanks which is used in welding here," said Lt. Shawn Jones of the Richmond Fire Department.

Firefighters were able to remove some of the tanks from the building and the city's HAZMAT team was called to the scene.

The three-alarm blaze in the city's east end brought fire crews from nearby Henrico County to assist Richmond Fire personnel already on scene.  Employees of S. B. Cox used heavy equipment to help firefighters clear a fire break, keeping flammable materials from feeding the blaze.

The fire was marked under control at 6:15 AM. 

"We are concerned about some of the environmental impact associated with some of the tires that were burning at this facility," Jones said. "The HAZMAT teams from the City of Richmond, Henrico and, at some point, maybe even the EPA will be out here to look into the situation."

Investigators have not determined the cause of the blaze.

Early this afternoon, Henrico County fire crews were called to the 1500 block of Split Oak Lane in the Honey Tree apartment complex in the county's west end.  When they arrived, firefighters found heavy smoke and flames coming from one building in the complex and immediately called a second alarm. 

Fire crews attempted to enter the building but were forced back by the flames.  As a third alarm was called, Henrico Fire teams used ground ladders to rescue two people from the third floor of the building. 

Several residents suffered minor injuries and were treated at the scene and released.  One firefighter was transported to a local hospital with non-life-threatening injuries.  The Red Cross is assisting residents displaced by the blaze. 

The Honey Tree apartment complex was the scene of another fire in March of this year that gutted one of its buildings. 

     the Red Cross arrives to assist displaced residents

Henrico County Police and Fire officials yesterday announced the preliminary findings of their investigation into a house fire in the 1700 block of Debbie Lane .  Friday morning, the bodies of a family of three were discovered by fire fighters after they entered the home near the Richmond Raceway Complex.

Authorities say 56-year-old Robert Ware and his son, 20-year-old Ashton Ware, each died of a single gunshot wound.  Robert Ware's wife, 44-year-old Virginia Ware, died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

The Henrico County Fire Marshall's Office says the fire was likely started in an attempt to destroy the home.

A joint investigation is continuing as fire and police investigators await lab reports from the Virginia State Lab and the Medical Examiner's Office.

(see original story below)  

The Henrico County Fire and Police departments are conducting a joint investigation into a house fire that claimed multiple lives this morning in the 1700 block of Debbie Lane in the county's north side.  Assistant Fire Marshall Will Shumate said the fire department initiated an aggressive response when they received the call because reports indicated there were people trapped in the home.

"With the report that there may be victims trapped, Henrico Fire upgraded it to a second alarm which brought an additional two engines and another specialty unit as well as multiple ambulances...there's a bunch of people out here today," Shumate said. 

The fire was marked under control around 11:00 this morning.  The number of fatalities was unknown when fire and police officials conducted a press briefing at 11:30 this morning and the victims have not been identified.  Lieutenant Eric Owens with the Henrico Police Department said police investigators are exploring all possibilities as to the cause of the blaze.

"On fires where there is a fatality, we normally work as a group - Police and Fire together.  Everybody has resources that compliment each other," Shumate said.

On scene, 1700 block of Debbie Lane in Henrico County        

Just after 4:30 yesterday afternoon, Chesterfield County firefighters responded to house fire in the 5500 block of Woolridge Road. When firefighters arrived, they found heavy smoke and fire coming from the second story of a farmhouse. It took an hour to contain the blaze. Investigators determined the fire was caused by a baseboard radiant heater placed too close to flammable bedding. Robbie Dawson, of the Chesterfield County Fire Marshall's office, said, "Make sure that anything that produces heat stays at least three feet or more away from any combustible material like clothing and drapes, bedding material, pillows, and things like that. We've had two fires in the last two days in Chesterfield with that very scenario." There were no injuries, but the blaze displaced two people.