‘I’m just gonna take it moment by moment’: Residents, businesses devastated by Shockoe Bottom fire

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) -- Some residents and business owners in Richmond's Shockoe Bottom are trying to navigate what to do next after a fire broke out Wednesday afternoon.

On Wednesday, June 25, a large fire caused significant damage to a two-story building at 1700 E. Main Street in Richmond. Three businesses were impacted, as well as multiple residents. While no one was hurt, two firefighters experienced heat exhaustion.

Kimberly and Clarissa Silcox are some of those people who'd been living upstairs -- a move that happened very recently.

"We signed the lease on Monday [and] we moved in on Friday," Kimberly told 8News. 

Still getting settled in their new place, Kimberly said that, on the day of the fire, she'd just laid down for a nap. 

"About 20 minutes after we laid down, I heard a loud explosion, and I didn’t know what it was -- so I looked out the front windows and all I saw was people with their phones," she said. “We saw flames coming through the window.” 

The couple grabbed their 10-and-a-half-year-old dog and ran. 

The Red Cross found them a place to stay for the night, where they said they’ll probably stay for the next few days.

"It’s hard not to think about everything we’ve lost but, at the same time, I’m just really thankful for what we still have," Clarissa said.

Kimberly and Clarissa just got married in February, telling 8News this apartment was their first place for just the two of them. They were excited for friends and family to visit and make it a home.

Kimberly was able to go back inside briefly after the fire to grab her car keys and see if anything else was salvageable.

“It’s just destroyed," she said. "There’s this much water on the ground. It’s a lot of insulation, dry wall, sheet rock ... Just very thankful for the fire department for getting here, getting everything out."

Erin Kennedy is the owner of "OMG OCPs," one of the businesses that share the building. The cookie shop employs four part-timers.

The shop was closed and Kennedy wasn't there when the fire broke out -- but her mom texted her, saying she could see the smoke and hear the sirens from that direction.

Luckily, Kennedy's store doesn’t have fire damage -- but the water damage and residual smoke are keeping her closed. 

“It’s definitely gonna hurt business for the next month," she said. "I mean, all of our catering, our wholesale ... everything. Like, we can’t do anything.” 

She described the damage, saying it looks like a flood went through her shop. There’s even water in the light fixtures. 

"Just walking inside and it smells like a campfire," Kennedy said. “It’s just dirt and water [on] everything.” 

The electricity is still off, so everything that needs to be refrigerated -- as well as all of her cookies -- are goners. 

"Just looking at it just in terms of products ... I mean, we’re definitely in the thousands," Kennedy said.

The fire also threatened things of sentimental value. Kennedy sadly had to put her dog down in the last few months and, inside of the shop, there was a hand-drawn painting of her dog from a former roommate, as well as his pawprint.

These things were luckily able to be saved with no damage -- but, until she had them in her hands, Kennedy was distraught. 

"That was probably what I was the most concerned about, to be honest, when I was coming in here," she said. "It’s so many emotions, you know? You’re panicked for your own stuff, but you’re also feeling really helpless and sorry for the people who are actually going through more than you.” 

Kennedy said the support she's already seen from the community has been relieving. She was grateful to see multiple city employees out trying to help where they could.

"This is my everything," she said. "I’m just gonna take it moment by moment and see what happens ... I love this neighborhood and this group of business owners, we’re close and we’re really supportive of each other ... I certainly don’t feel alone in all this.” 

The cause of the fire is still being investigated by the Richmond Fire Department.