VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. (WAVY) – The Virginia Beach Fire Department arrived to the 2300 block of Vaughan Road Saturday evening for reports of a residential structure fire.
Crews arrived to the scene around 6:56 p.m. to find heavy smoke and flames from a fully involved barn. The barn was around 10,000 square feet full of farm equipment, according to the VBFD.
The fire was under control around 8:02 a.m. and there were no injuries to civilians, firefighters, or pets. Additionally, no one was displaced.
10 On Your Side spoke to the family who runs the farm, and they say everything inside was lost.
“Investigators are still investigating it. It just happened last night,” said Robert Vaughan, the father of the Coastal Cattle owners. “My older son, he saw the fire. He saw the fire get more fully engaged, and then it engulfed everything.”
Vaughan’s family has farmed the land in Virginia Beach for generations, first arriving in the 1600s. Now, they’re facing a major setback.
“Everything is totally lost,” said Vaughan. “Three tractors in there, it’s going to add up. We just hope that we’re able to recover.”
Smoke was still rising from the burnt structure as Vaughan explained the situation.
Since the fire, the community members have shown nothing but support for the farm, offering to help them recover in any way they can.
“It just shows you what kind of people we have. I hope to think that we’d do the same for them, what they’re doing for us,” said Vaughan. “We’ve been here a long time; we’re a generational farm. We’ve been around a long time; we’ll be around a while longer.”
The origin and cause of the fire is still under investigation.