Family Left Homeless By Fire Needs Your Help

FALLS CHURCH, VA -- The Falls Church‐McLean Children’s Center is raising funds for a family who lost their belongings Sunday in a fire that swept through a local apartment complex.

Maria Rodriguez and her two-year-old daughter Sophia lost all of their possessions when the fire heavily damaged eight apartments in the complex in the 2800 block of Pine Spring Road, inside the Beltway and south of Lee Highway (Route 29).

"Rodriguez and her daughter were away at the time and returned to find their apartment and several others uninhabitable and all of their possessions destroyed," the children's center said in a statement.

The fire displaced a total of 41 people and caused nearly $700,000 in damage, but there were no injuries reported, according to the Fairfax County Fire & Rescue Department.

Though furniture and other items must be replaced, cash is the most useful contribution at this point, the center says. Checks can be sent to the Sophia Guzman-Rodriguez Emergency Account, Capital One Bank, 1439 Chain Bridge Road, McLean, VA  22101.

For more information, call the Falls Church-McLean Children's Center at 703-534-4907. The center is at 7230 Idylwood Road in Falls Church.