VB firefighters battle apartment fire

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Virginia Beach firefighters battled an apartment fire this morning in the 3000 block of Cape Henry Avenue just off Shore Drive near the Lesner Bridge.

Fire investigators tell WAVY.com a man living in a first floor apartment called 911 around 6:30 a.m. and told dispatchers there was a fire in his bedroom.  The man ran outside and waited for firefighters as other residents in the apartment complex were awaked by the strong smell of smoke.

Firefighters arrived and quickly doused the flames in the man's bedroom before the fire spread to any other units.  They also evacuated adjacent units until the fire was completely out.

Two young women who live in the unit right above the apartment where the fire started told WAVY.com they were sound asleep when the fire started.   They said they both grabbed their cats and ran outside.

"It was very scary," said one of the young women.  "I have only been living on my own for about a year and nothing like this has ever happened to me before.  It was really scary."

The batallion chief on the scene told WAVY.com the fire was caused by discarded smoking materials in the man's bedroom.

No one was injured.  The man apologized to firefighters.