‘We have to start from scratch’: Richmond family of 3 left without a home after apartment fire

Apr 24, 2025 - 02:25

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‘We have to start from scratch’: Richmond family of 3 left without a home after apartment fire

RICHMOND, Va. (WRIC) — A Richmond family of three is relying on faith after a fire tore through their apartment on Tuesday.

"We have to start from scratch -- and we were already not in a good situation," said Taquella Smith of Richmond. "I just try to stay strong for my kids."

Smith told 8News she had arrived home the evening of Tuesday, April 22 to smoke coming out of her apartment and her dog panicking.

"I'm thinking, 'Should I put it out, grab some water?'" Smith said. "By the time I got back there, it got worse. So I said, 'No, let me get up out of here.'"

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Crews with the Richmond Fire Department were called to the apartment, located in the 1400 block of Clarkson Road, just after 7:30 p.m. for a report of a fire.

Firefighters arrived and saw smoke coming out from the first-floor apartment. Officials believe the fire began in the bedroom towards the rear of the building.

That bedroom belonged to Smith's 20-year-old daughter, Makayla, who is a cosmetology student.

"A lot of my school stuff got destroyed, and they're not going to replace them," Makayla said. "It hurts, because part of the reason why I was picking up a lot [of] shifts working was so I can help [my mother] out, because I want her to take a break."