Fire officials believe a Richmond man and his teenage daughter were killed after a blow-dryer ignited the man's mattress and he tried to put out the blaze early this morning.
Authorities also believe the man threw the burning mattress downstairs and that it blocked their escape route from the second floor. The teenage girl's twin sister escaped the home in Richmond's West End, as did the girls' grandmother, relatives said. Both suffered from smoke inhalation and were taken to hospitals.
Officials have not named the dead, but relatives identified them as James F. Harvey Jr., who was said to be 49 years old, and his daughter Jessica Harvey, 15.
Jessica's twin sister, Jamie Harvey, escaped the blaze with James Harvey's mother, identified as Melvina Whitby, 76.
The fire gutted the wood-frame cape in the 5800 block of Guthrie Avenue near St. Christopher's School and Patterson and Libbie avenues.
Richmond Fire Lt. Shawn L. Jones said the teenage survivor called to report the blaze at 1:51 a.m. She had already gotten safely out of the house by the time the first units arrived within five minutes of the call, and firefighters rescued the woman from the home as soon as they arrived.
"Resuscitation efforts were made for the female who was pulled from the house," Jones said.
The woman was taken to VCU Medical Center with life-threatening injuries, Jones said. The girl was taken to Bon Secours St. Mary's Hospital with injuries that were not believed to be life-threatening.
Jones said the two others were already dead inside.
Jones said a representative from the medical examiner's office arrived at the house shortly after 5:30 a.m. to join the investigation and remove the bodies. Dental records will be used to positively identify the deceased, Jones said.
Jones added that the house was equipped with a smoke detector. Jones said the first firefighters on scene did not recall hearing any smoke alarms, but relatives said that Jamie Harvey heard one go off.
Firefighters, who found heavy smoke and fire on the first floor of the home, declared the fire under control at 2:11 a.m.
No firefighters were injured.
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