DATE: Friday, October 17, 1997              TAG: 9710170652
SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B6   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY STEVE STONE, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   55 lines

NEIGHBOR'S HELP ARRIVES AHEAD OF FIREFIGHTERS

As a woman screamed for help from a window above, sheltering her 11-month-old child from the choking smoke around her, John C. Bell made a dash for the stairs of the burning building in hopes of reaching her.

``I got about four steps,'' the 35-year-old Norfolk State University worker and part-time student said Thursday night. ``But then the smoke just forced me back.''

Undaunted, Bell kept a cool head and ran back to his nearby home to retrieve a ladder. Moments later, he carried the child to safety and then helped the mother and another woman out.

``I just reacted on instinct,'' said Bell, who shrugged off suggestions he'd acted heroically. ``Everyone was just kind of hysterical. I could see why, that smoke was so bad . . . but someone had to take charge.''

Bell said he did not know any of the people he helped by name, although, ``I have seen the lady at the bus stop,'' he said.

Fire officials were crediting Bell, an Army veteran who harbors an interest in becoming a firefighter, with helping to save their lives.

``It was good a citizen came forward,'' said Jack Goldhorn, a fire department spokesman. Although firefighters arrived moments later and picked up the rescue effort, saving another five people from the structure, Bell's efforts had given them a good head start.

``It was a great assistance to us,'' Goldhorn said.

The fire at the four-unit Villa Heights Apartments in the 2500 block of Villa Circle, just off 26th Street, was reported about 8 p.m. It broke out in a rear room of a first-floor apartment. The cause is still under investigation, but officials said an initial inspection indicated that it may have been sparked accidentally.

It took 30 firefighters from three engine companies and two ladder trucks about 10 minutes to douse the fire. Four rescue squads came to assist the injured.

Although flames were confined to the one apartment that was heavily damaged, thick, noxious smoke quickly oozed through the entire building, making escape down stairwells impossible for seven people trapped upstairs.

Thanks to Bell's efforts and firefighters who arrived in the midst of his rescue efforts, all were brought to safety, Goldhorn said.

All the rescued residents - ranging in age from 11 months to 48 years - suffered smoke inhalation. They were taken to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for treatment, but Goldhorn said none was believed to be in serious condition.

Two firefighters who also were hurt - one with a knee injury, the other with an arm wound - were treated at the scene and resumed their duties.

The names of the injured were not immediately released.

The preliminary damage estimate for the blaze was $18,000. ILLUSTRATION: Photo

NHAT MEYER/The Virginian-Pilot

Norfolk firefighters check out an apartment on Villa Circle, near

the 26th Street bridge, that was damaged by fire Thursday night.

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