VB couple picking up the pieces of their life after apartment fire

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) — On Thursday, April 18, 13 people were forced to watch as they lost virtually everything in an apartment fire.

Previous Coverage: Smoking material blamed for VB apartment fire that damaged 8 units

The Virginia Beach Fire Department was called to the Legends at the Beach apartments and found heavy smoke and flames coming out of a second floor unit. It took around an hour for crews to put out the fire.

Eight units were damaged leaving 13 people, six cats and two dogs displaced. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

I’Asia Barkley told 10 On Your Side that she first thought the smell of fire was her food burning in the microwave, but then her neighbor came pounding at her door making it all too real.

“I could tell by the way he was looking at me that it was like a serious fire, and I just grab my keys off the wall, I grabbed my cat and my phone in my hand already, put my shoes on and just ran down the stairs,” Barkley said. “When I looked up, I could just see this huge fire, and so much smoke going everywhere.”

She then called her boyfriend, Darien Dickinson who was working just a couple of streets away.

He rushed over, already seeing the smoke billowing in the sky.

“It was crazy it was massive,” Dickinson said. “Like a couple of minutes before that, I had heard the fire truck because I work right across from the fire station. I had heard them start up, but I paid it no mind. And then a couple of minutes later I’m getting the phone call. So, it was a bit scary.”

They said at least half of their belongings were ruined, including a lot of his daughter’s stuff.

“All of her clothes, some of my belongings, everything’s soaked,” Dickinson said.

But at the end of the day, they’re just glad they have an amazing support system and that they can salvage anything from their home.

“And it was nice that everyone came together during the fire,” Barkley said. “I didn’t know a lot of my neighbors, but everyone came together, and we all try to take care of each other.”

There’s a GoFundMe available here to help them out during this difficult time.

Check with WAVY.com for more updates.

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