The fire alarm in the building went off at about 4:50 p.m. in “The Roebuck” in the 500 block of Front Street, across the street from the offices of PETA.
We’re still waiting for more official information from Norfolk Fire and Rescue, but the department’s Public Information Officer told us the fire was contained to one apartment and the sprinkler system was activated and caused water damage.
A producer who works here at 13News Now lives in the building and tells us that the fire appears to have started in an apartment on the fourth floor.
According to our producer, everyone self-evacuated from the building. She also said she was told there were no injuries.
There’s been no word from the building’s management company about the extent of damage and when repairs might take place. We also don’t know exactly how many people were displaced.
This is the second time in two days in which a large number of residents in an apartment building have been displaced by a relatively minor fire. On Saturday, a fire broke out in the kitchen in an apartment the Heron’s Landing complex in Chesapeake displacing several residents. In this instance, the sprinkler system was also activated and caused damage to at least 30 apartments.
This is a developing story. We’ll update it once we get more information.
