‘I could have died in there’: Displaced resident leans on support to rebuild after Chesterfield apartment fire

CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — Days after a Chesterfield apartment fire displaced 44 residents, one man is reflecting on the moment his life changed, and the support that has been helping him move forward.

On Friday, Jan. 16, Darby Cassel returned to the Waterside at Iron Bridge Apartments to see what remains of the building where he lived for just over a year.

“That was my apartment,” Cassel said, pointing to the damaged building. “That window to the left of the balcony was my bedroom, and then the fire started on this side.”

Darby Cassel looks at the damage to his unit on the third floor. (Photo: Deniel Dookan, 8News)

Cassel who lived on the third floor, said he was asleep when the fire broke out across the hall from his unit around 2 a.m. on Thursday Jan. 8.

“I woke up to my smoke alarm going off,” he said. “My first thought was, let me go turn this off.”

But when he opened his bedroom door, Cassel realized it wasn't a false alarm.

“My living room was full of smoke, and I saw fire coming out from underneath my front door,” Cassel said. “It was trying to come in and instantly I was like, 'I gotta get out of here.'”

Cassel escaped to his balcony as the flames spread quickly. Chesterfield firefighters used a ladder to help him get to safety. He says the fireman told him his quick thinking helped save his life.

“I was talking to the firemen after the fact, and they said that if I were to have opened that door, all that fire would have come into my apartment,” Cassel said. “I would have invited it in and that could have killed me.”

Cassel recalled the moment he stood alongside neighbors as they watched firefighters battle the heavy flames.

“I was watching it in suspense, just hoping it didn’t burn my entire apartment down... like it actually did,” he said as he turned around to get another glimpse of the destruction.

Cassel said he made it out of the apartment with just his phone in hand before flames engulfed the third floor and caused part of the building to collapse. Cassel said he was unable to retrieve any belongings.

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“I just started thinking about all the things that I left in there that I needed,” he said. “Car keys, medications, my wallet,”

While the loss itself was overwhelming, Cassel said he was shocked the by the show of support he received in response. His mother started a GoFundMe to help him get back on his feet, raising more than $2,000 within hours.

“I’m pretty prideful, so it’s been tough accepting a lot of the help that I've gotten or even asking for any help,” Cassel said. “One thing that just surprised me [was] how big and how strong my support system is and how much people actually care about me.”

Cassel said he has since been approved for a new apartment. In the meantime, coworkers are helping him with temporary housing while he waits to move in.

“It’s only been a week, and it looks like by the end of the month I’ll have some semblance of normal again,” he said.

As he continues to rebuild Cassel said his focus is on what matters most.

“Everything can be replaced,” he said. “I’m alive. That’s the most important thing. But it's still kind of crazy... I could have died in there for sure.”

Chesterfield fire officials said the cause of the fire is undetermined.