‘Thankful’: Henrico teacher, mom rebuilds one year after apartment fire took everything
VENN
RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — During the 2024 holiday season, Diamond Robinson was preparing to welcome her first child when a fire tore through her Richmond apartment complex, destroying her belongings and leaving her without a home.
Nearly one year later, the Richmond mother and Henrico County teacher is celebrating the holidays in a new apartment -- and this time, she has her 9-month-old daughter by her side.
“We lost everything,” she said. “We had just moved in, just got our stuff out of storage, and lost our apartment.”
She said she had been taking an afternoon nap when she woke to people yelling outside in the evening of Dec. 14, 2024.
A fire had erupted in a unit above hers at the Crossing at Bramblewood Apartments on Brownleaf Drive.
Richmond Fire officials said they arrived to find a second-story unit in flames, ultimately displacing Robinson and several neighbors.
"For about a month, we were just in between places, figuring stuff out," she said. "It was definitely a struggle, all while being pregnant."
Robinson said help poured in after 8News first shared her story last year. Community members donated essentials, filled her baby registry and helped her start over as she prepared to welcome her daughter, Delaney.
"Delaney means everything to me," she said. "When you have a child, you start seeing the world differently, you start thinking about your goals differently, you start thinking about your future differently."
25-foot Virginia-grown Christmas tree to light up Richmond’s Capitol Square
8News reached out to the Richmond Fire Department for this story, but we have not yet received an update on what caused the fire.
"I’m very thankful," Robinson said. "Not only for a healthy baby, [but] thankful that we have a roof over our head. Thankful that my family is healthy and everybody's doing well."
