Large fire tears through New Kent County pallet company yard, destroys rows of product

PHOTOS: A severe fire in the yard of a New Kent County pallet company tore through rows of product on Wednesday. According to New Kent Fire-Rescue, firefighters were called to the Allied Pallet Company, located at 7151 Poindexter Rd., at about 8:51 a.m. on Wednesday, April 24 for report of a possible structure fire. When they arrived at the scene, crews found heavy smoke conditions and 25 rows of stacked pallets consumed by fire. According to fire officials, firefighters at the scene were able to keep the flames from further spreading, and marked the fire under control within 20 minutes. No other information, such as the cause of the fire, has been shared by fire officials as of the time of reporting.
WAVY-TV NBC 10 Portsmouth

29 families displaced after motel fire in Petersburg

A fire damaged the American Inn on Tuesday in Petersburg, displacing 29 families. “I saw the flames were coming out, very high flames on top of the roof,” American Inn motel owner Sunny Anand said. Motel staff said they immediately sprang into action to help. “Man, [room] 224 was just lit up, and we was trying to get everybody out,” American Inn maintenance worker TJ Poole said. “We did our best to get up there and get the fire out, and it did nothing but spread and spread and spread.” Firefighters were called to the scene at 2209 County Drive shortly after 1 p.m. “On arrival, heavy fire was coming from rooms on the 2nd floor on both sides of the two-story building,” Petersburg officials said. “The fire was marked under control within 25 minutes.” More than 25 firefighters from Petersburg and Colonial Heights battled the blaze.
WWBT-TV NBC 12 Richmond

Fentanyl awareness event held for first responders around the state

First responders from several agencies got a chance to learn more about the impact of the fentanyl crisis in the Commonwealth. The “Operation F.R.E.E Virginia” First Responders Preparedness & Awareness Event happened on Monday morning at the Virginia Department of Emergency Management’s (VDEM) Logistics Support and Coordination Center. “We’re giving demonstrations to resemble what a pill press or what a milling operation might look like because we see fentanyl coming into the Commonwealth in various forms. That can be in block form [or] it can be in pressed pills,” said Marcus Anderson, the deputy secretary for Public Safety and Homeland Security for the Governor’s Office. According to officials, this event is part of the month-long educational and enforcement initiative aimed at freeing Virginia from the fentanyl crisis.
WRIC-TV ABC 8 Petersburg