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Loudoun County resident among 40 students displaced after 5-alarm fire engulfs James Madison University apartment complex

Harrisonburg community comes together to support those affected by fire, damage it caused
Credit: Tristan Lorei | The Breeze
There are 43 displaced residents.

HARRISONBURG, Va. — A Loudoun County resident was among 40 students after a five-alarm fire engulfed a unit of off-campus apartments in Harrisonburg Va.

The fire began around noon Thursday at the The Hills: Southview apartment complex and was contained by 1:45 p.m. Residents, who were all accounted for, safely evacuated just after 1:20 p.m. according to Harrisonburg officials.

No injures were reported, officials said.

Many JMU students are residents of the Northern Va. and D.C. areas — Aly Broecker is one them. She's originally from Ashburn, Va., and is now a sophomore interdisciplinary liberal studies major at James Madison University. 

She's one of the many students impacted by the fire.

Broecker was in class when the fire started, but received a message from her roommate who was in the apartment at the time alerting her of the situation.

"I was so worked up. I didn't really know what to do," Broecker said. "I just knew I had to get home. Once I actually went to the apartment I was still really upset, but it calmed me down when I heard that no one else was hurt."

Broecker said the smoke was visible from campus and that heightened her emotions. 

Credit: Tristan Lorei | The Breeze
The fire was contained around 1:45 p.m.

Broecker said her family immediately drove two hours from Ashburn to Harrisonburg once they heard what happened. Broeker said she never thought she'd experience something like this.

Her family are a few of the many supporting those impacted by the fire. Both the Harrisonburg and JMU have come together to help the displaced residents.

A GoFundMe was created shortly after the fire with the intent of helping the Southview residents. It started with the initial goal of $10,000. Hours later, the GoFundMe reached $40,000 in donations. On Friday -- 24 hours following the fire -- over $76,000 has been donated in support of the residents, over seven times the initial goal.

Other JMU students and organizations are offering food, clothes, toiletries, pet supplies and other essentials -- some are even offering a place to sleep in their own apartments.

JMU organizations announced proceed nights at local restaurants to support those affected by the fire, donation drives and other fundraisers to help the community.

Credit: Tristan Lorei | The Breeze
Firefighters and other safety personnel worked tireless to contain the fire.

Broecker feels overwhelmed with the support she's receiving from friends, family and classmates.

"Words can't even describe how grateful and how thankful I am for everyone," Broecker said. "It's really shocking that so many people would help us out in this way. I love JMU and I'm so happy that everyone in this community has been so great in helping all of us out in any way they can."

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