Update 8 p.m.
Fire officials in Woodbridge said 20 people are homeless Tuesday after a fire ripped through walls at their apartment complex Tuesday.
Apartment homes in the 1400 block of Eisenhower Avenue were evacuated about 4:30 p.m. after a fire was found inside the walls at one of the apartment homes. The man who called 911 and reported the problem initially said he saw water coming from a wall, but upon further investigation flames were found inside the wall and a water pipe was found to be ruptured.
“Fire and rescue personnel had an extensive and time consuming job locating and confining the fire burning in the walls and ceiling from the second floor to the third,” said Prince William fire and rescue spokesman Joe Robertson.
Robertson said 14 homes were affected by the blaze, seven of which have been deemed uninhabitable. No injuries were reported, and the displaced victims have been assisted by the Red Cross, said Robertson.
The fire caused an estimated $140,000 in damage.
Original post: 5:30 p.m.
Woodbridge, Va. — Fire and rescue crews tonight are on the scene of an apartment fire in Woodbridge.
The blaze was reported to be inside the wall of the second and third floors of the building in the 1300 block of Eisenhower Drive, off Mary’s Way and U.S. 1.
Several units have been dispatched to the scene and a fire marshal is headed to the scene to investigate, said Prince William fire and rescue spokesman Joe Robertson.
The neighborhood where the fire broke out this afternoon is known as the Woodbridge Station Apartments. The apartments in the complex range from two to four bedrooms, according to the development’s website.
