LYNCHBURG, Va. – “We lost everything. Everything is a total loss,” Rosa Robinson said, her voice breaking as she described the fire that destroyed her Lynchburg home last week.
Robinson and her elderly mother, Mildred Tucker, were devastated when flames engulfed their Pierce Street residence on December 29. Fire crews arrived after they were called just before 7:45 that evening to find Tucker still trapped inside the burning structure.
Before firefighters arrived, Robinson had attempted to rescue her mother.
“I was going to drag her off but I couldn’t get her — smoke was getting in my lungs too,” Robinson said. “I was trying to save my mama.”
Tucker was rescued by firefighters and initially taken to Lynchburg General Hospital before being airlifted to VCU Medical Center in Richmond for smoke inhalation treatment. She remains hospitalized but is now in stable condition.
For Robinson, the material losses pale in comparison to what can’t be replaced.
“We’d have lost all our clothes, all our TVs and everything. But that’s something you can give back, but the memories you can’t give back,” she said.
The family has launched a GoFundMe campaign to help with recovery and housing costs as they work to rebuild their lives.
Despite the devastating loss, Robinson expressed gratitude for the community’s response.
“I just love everybody for doing everything that they can for us,” she said.
Robinson says the fire started after her mother’s ex-boyfriend was smoking crack cocaine without the family’s knowledge, setting fire to their basement.
The Lynchburg Fire Marshal’s Office has ruled the cause of the fire as accidental, and the incident is still under investigation.
The American Red Cross is assisting the displaced family with temporary shelter needs.