Fire damages Chimborazo home

Richmond firefighters battled for nearly two hours to extinguish an intense, two-alarm house fire in the city's East End yesterday.

No one was injured in the blaze, which was reported at 11:11 a.m. in the 3500 block of East Clay Street in the Chimborazo neighborhood.

Fire Lt. Keith Vida said the first units responding to the scene found heavy smoke and fire coming out of the third-floor attic area of the single-family home. They also found a man outside the home trying to put water on the fire with a garden hose.

The fire escalated to a second alarm before noon, with flames pouring out of a second-floor window and heavy smoke conditions inside.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, but officials believe it started in the upper floors of the home.

Despite a fair breeze, Vida said firefighters managed to contain the flames to the house where it started. Homes next to the house on fire sustained minor damage. -- Jim Nolan