Community Chat

[golding76]

[A news anchor delivered this news that caught my attention.  President Lyndon Johnson's older daughter, Lynda Bird, and her husband, Charles Robb, survived a massive house fire in their McLean, Va., home late last night.  They were both hospitalized.  Total loss of their over $3-million home, but they are alive.  I remember when the Robbs married.  I am relieved that this elderly couple survived.  No one else was in their large home at the time of the fire.  I live in this area, and it was extremely cold in Northern Virginia and its environs last night.  Not a night to be forced to leave one's home, that's for sure.]

Former Virginia Gov. and Sen. Chuck Robb and wife injured after McLean house fire

Alejandro Alvarez| 

December 22, 2021, 12:33 PM

Fire Investigators have been on the scene trying to determine the cause of the McLean fire. (Courtesy Fairfax County Fire & Rescue)

Former Virginia Gov. and U.S. Sen. Chuck Robb and his wife, Lynda, sustained injuries as a massive fire destroyed their McLean home late Tuesday.

“The Robb family confirmed their parents had no life-threatening injuries and had been transported by ambulance to the hospital. They were the only occupants at the time of the fire,” Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam said in a statement Wednesday.

Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda’s sister, told WTOP her brother-in-law, Chuck Robb, was hospitalized with burns but has since been released. Her sister, who suffered smoke inhalation, remains hospitalized. Lynda Bird Johnson Robb is the eldest daughter of former President Lyndon Baines Johnson.

In Northam’s statement, the couple’s three daughters said, “Our entire family is deeply grateful to the firefighters for their rapid response and the medical professionals who are taking care of them. We have what is most important to us — our mom and dad.”

Investigators say it may be days or weeks before the cause of the blaze is determined.

Longtime family friend and spokesman Tom Johnson, who served as the former spokesman for President Lyndon Baines Johnson, told WTOP that the multimillion-dollar house on Chain Bridge Road is a total loss. The home has an estimated value of $3.4 million, according to Fairfax County property records.

Robb served as Virginia’s governor from 1982 to 1986 and represented Virginia in the U.S. Senate from 1989 to 2001.

Fairfax County first responders were called to the 600 block of Chain Bridge Road around 11:30 p.m. Tuesday for a fire burning in the house’s first floor.

A second alarm was later called to bring in additional resources as flames spread to the home’s roof and enveloped much of the structure.

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Flames and smoke from the McLean fire were seen in the night sky for miles. A driver who saw the blaze from the opposite side of the Potomac River called Montgomery County emergency services, believing it was in a Maryland neighborhood.

It was also visible from across the Chain Bridge in the District.

Units from Arlington and Montgomery counties assisted the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in responding to the blaze. No firefighters were injured.

According to Northam, the Robbs had lived in the home for nearly 50 years.

WTOP’s Neal Augenstein reported from McLean. WTOP’s Matt Small, Colleen Kelleher, Andrew Alsbrooks and Alicia Abelson contributed to this story.

[Goldengate8361]

Fires like this are just freaky. I'm very glad they are ok. I hope their pets are ok, too. Losing a house and all of your personal belongings would be devastating.....like the recent tornado victims, too. My heart goes out to them all.

[Kachina624]

@golding76    Thanks for posting and let us know down the road if you hear anything about the cause.   Very sad for the Robbs and especially difficult right before Christmas. 

[Queen of shop]

@golding76  Just awful. I'm glad they are alive. I remember when they got married too.

Thanks for posting.

[golding76]

I know it might sound odd to some, but many of us who are in the same age bracket as the Robbs, and watched the Johnson girls (Lynda and Luci Baines) mature in the White House and eventually marry, feel a certain closeness to them.  They are like old friends you never see or talk to any longer.

Photo of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Robb on their wedding day:

[stellabystarlight]

Thank God Lynda and her husband will be OK.  Thank you for posting.

[BlueFinch]

I think many of us here remember this couple's youthful romance and eventual marriage. This is the first I've heard about them in a very long time.

Sad to hear bad news, but glad it appears they weren't seriously injured. A beautiful home that appears a total loss. I wish them well as they begin to reconstruct their lives. 

[AuntG]

Glad they'll be okay. I would not have guessed their home to be over fifty years old. 

[Sooner]

I am certainly glad they will be ok physically, but what a loss this would be for them.  I can't imagine the historic and sentimental items that burned in this fire.

It is a loss on a personal level and for history as well.  It would be difficult to start over I think.  

[wvumountiefan]

That's so sad but I'm glad they are okay!