Henrico dad rescues daughter trapped in house fire

HENRICO, VA (WWBT) - A man in Henrico rescued his step-daughter, trapped upstairs during a fire Monday morning. The Henrico family smelled smoke coming from their garage off Sholey Road, at about 1 a.m..

The young lady who lives in the apartment atop her parents garage says she tried to open the door, but it was very hot. Allyson asked that NBC12 not use her entire name. She escaped the apartment through a relatively small window.

"Luckily, I was small enough to get out of it," said Allyson.

Her stepfather, Brian Seebeck, rushed outside when he discovered the danger.

"I jumped up really quick, threw some pants on, not a shirt…The smoke was totally black. It was so hot from the fire inside," said Seebeck.

He grabbed a ladder, and quickly climbed to the top rung.

"My adrenalin was flowing. I would have ripped that window off to get her out, no matter what happened," said Seebeck.

Seebeck says he had to pull his step daughter out since she barely reached the window.

"I just reached through, and pulled her out. And we climbed down the ladder together," he said of his step-daughter.

Firefighters extinguished the flames in about 20 minutes. Unfortunately, there's significant smoke damage to the apartment. Investigators say a space heater in the garage sparked the fire. Firefighters say it was running on an extension cord, which overheated.

The family also says that the smoke alarm in the apartment didn't work.

"Good thing I was awake," said Allyson.

Firefighters warn that you should never use an extension cord with a space heater, since they're prone to overheating. Also, make sure to check your smoke alarm batteries.

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