Two families displaced in fire

CHESAPEAKE, Va. (WAVY) - A fire in Chesapeake Monday night displaced two families from their homes. Captain Sam Gulisano of the Chesapeake Fire Department tells WAVY.com, two adults and eight children were rushed from their apartments when the fire began just before 11 p.m.

In the chilly darkness, firefighters rushed to the scene of the fire in the 3000 block of Parkside Drive. Rhonda Smith says her son smelled the smoke and took action.

"He woke me and my fiance up, we were asleep and banged on the door and told us we had to get out...fire," Smith told WAVY.com.

When Smith opened her door she saw a shocking sight.

"Nothing but smoke, black smoke," she said.

Through that smoke she says she saw her neighbor and realized she needed help.

"She was trying to get the kids out out of her house and I'm trying to open my door so she can get the kids in my house and they're saying no, we all got to get out because stuff was popping like something was going to explode," says Smith.

Luckily, there was no explosion, but with the fire out you can see the damage left behind.

"Her whole house just burned up in flames," said Smith.

The Red Cross is helping the two parents and eight children buy clothes and food while the families decide what to do next. Captain Gulisano says no one was hurt in the fire and that's all that matters to Smith.

"That's the main thing. Forget the furniture, the house, the apartment and stuff, as long as those kids are safe, that's all that matters."

Gulisano says the cause of the fire is under investigation.