One seriously injured, another charged in fire

Published 9:28 am Monday, May 29, 2017

One man was hospitalized and another was arrested and charged with arson following a fire that started Sunday evening in an East Washington Street home.

Tyson Maurice Watkins, 25, is charged with arson of an occupied building and is being held at Western Tidewater Regional Jail with no bond, according to a city press release. He was living at the residence prior to the fire.

The Hampton Fire Marshal’s Office assisted with the Suffolk fire marshal’s investigation with an accelerant-detecting dog, according to the release.

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The fire was reported at 11:18 p.m. in the 1300 block of East Washington Street, according to the press release. Suffolk police arrived on the scene two minutes later and found a man on the roof of the home. The first fire units arrived on scene at 11:21 p.m. and found heavy fire coming from both the first and second floors of the two-story structure.

Watkins

Ladder 3 rescued the man from the roof, and he was airlifted by Nightingale to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital with injuries that are considered life-threatening.

Two additional adult residents were unaccounted for initially but later located unharmed.

The fire was marked under control at 12:04 a.m. The Nansemond-Suffolk Volunteer Rescue Squad responded along with numerous Suffolk Fire and Rescue units.

East Washington Street was closed until about 2:30 a.m.