A family of three—a mother and her two children—who died in an early-morning fire yesterday in Henrico County may have had their escape blocked by heavy smoke and fire. “When our personnel entered the home, they encountered hot, thick, black smoke,“ Henrico Fire Capt. Chris Buehren said yesterday. That condition blocked the only escape route, a hallway, from the home’s three bedrooms.

An Eagle Scout working at a Boy Scouts of America camp intentionally set the fire that killed him, Virginia State Police said yesterday. Christopher William Murray, 20, of Albemarle County, died early Friday inside the trading post of Camp Shenandoah in Swoope, police said. “The investigation concluded that the fire was intentionally set by the victim,“ state police Sgt. F.L. Tyler read from a statement.

A Caroline County woman died in a house fire early yesterday in the county’s Port Royal area, authorities said. Marion Detweiler, 78, of the 8100 block of Eva Road, was found dead inside her home after firefighters extinguished the blaze, reported at 1:39 a.m., according to a news release issued by Caroline Sheriff A.A. “Tony” Lippa Jr.

The 79-year-old woman who died in a fire at her home in South Richmond on Sunday night had planned to move in with her daughter in South Carolina in a few weeks. Family members last night remembered Elizabeth Louise Clark as an independent, if stubborn, woman who was fond of pugs and went by the names Betty and Betty Lou. She was “Punkin” to her three granddaughters.