Rhoda Young reported live from the scene of a house fire in Norfolk, Virginia on November 27
A citizen journalist has gone viral after doggedly searching for the cause of a house fire in suburban Virginia.
Rhoda Young, frequently reminding her viewers that she is ‘reporting live’ from the scene, has her cameraman drive her to the site in the city of Norfolk on November 27.
‘We on the scene of this b***h,’ she says in her Facebook Live video. ‘This is Rhoda Young reporting live…I’m a volunteer.’
Eventually, she stumbles upon a man sitting on a lawn across the street from the burning home.
He is sipping a Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and appears to be calm.
Young approaches him and states: ‘That’s your house? Oh god! Bless you.’
As he takes a sip of PBR, she says: ‘Now lemme ask you this: How did it catch on fire?’
‘I dunno.’
‘Was you home?’
‘Yeah.’
She describes how he purchased a six-pack of ‘red, blue and white ribbon beer,’ which he corrects to PBR.
Later, she provides commentary on how electrical wiring in the house is going down.
Young, a citizen journalist, arrives and states: ‘We on the scene of this b***h.’ She tries to figure out the cause of the fire
‘Oh s**t, f**k, f**k, let’s get out of here,’ she says. ‘I need to get this street blocked off.’
She then notices that the PBR-drinking house dweller suffered burns to his hair and face.
He tries to swat her away, to which she says: ‘Don’t hit me now.’ She then asks for a high-five, and he consents.
She tells the camera: ‘The owner of the house was upstairs when the fire started…Doing my investigation, I have now discovered his motherf*****g hair was on fire, and his pants is burned off his d**n leg.
‘So he was right there when the fire started, and he got a six pack of godd**n PBR.
‘So now I gotta figure out her start that fire.’
At one point, a Thanksgiving-themed filter appears at the bottom of the screen.
She tells a firefighter that she has figured out what caused the fire, but the firefighter rebuffs her.
She also revisits the man, who appears to want nothing to do with her.
‘Once again, that’s the owner drunk as a motherf****r.’
She interviews a man who drinks Pabst Blue Ribbon beer and deduces that he might have caused the fire; later, he is arrested
Young tells law enforcement on the scene that she has figured out the cause of the fire but she is rebuffed
He eventually gets arrested, presumably on charges of causing the fire.
Young makes sure to use allegedly – even in instances in which it is not exactly necessary – after being reminded of the term by an unidentified man.
‘Allegedly this man set his house on fire. He has allegedly been placed under arrest. He allegedly admitted to setting his house on fire.’
She concludes her video with a plea for recognition; her interactions with law enforcement during the fire consist of them giving the cold shoulder or, in once instance, rolling their eyes at her.
‘I did solve the crime before the fire marshal got on the scene.
‘Whether or not they want to give me gratitude or tell me thank you, but guess what: I know i did my job.
Young, pictured with a cameraman seen at the beginning of the video, says: ‘I did the best job i could do, and if the fire marshal can at least say: “Thank you, Rhoda Young, for solving this crime and making our job easier,” it would be truly appreciated’
‘I did the best job i could do, and if the fire marshal can at least say: “Thank you, Rhoda Young, for solving this crime and making our job easier,” it would be truly appreciated.’
Even if she does not get credit for solving the crime, her video has made her a huge hit with Internet viewers.
Video of her investigation has received more than 500,000 views on YouTube.