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By Lora Korpar
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A former Virginia governor and U.S. senator and his wife were hospitalized Wednesday after a fire tore through the McLean, Virginia home they had lived in for 50 years.
Chuck and Lynda Robb were the only two people in the home when the fire started, Virginia Governor Ralph Northam said in a statement.
The couple's three daughters confirmed in the statement that the couple did not suffer any life-threatening injuries and that an ambulance had brought them to the hospital.
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"Our entire family is deeply grateful to the firefighters for their rapid response and the medical professionals who are taking care of them," they said. "We have what is most important to us—our mom and dad."
Chuck Robb, an 82-year-old Democrat, served as governor of Virginia from 1982 to 1986 and as a U.S. senator from 1989 to 2001. Lynda Robb, 77, is the daughter of former President Lyndon B. Johnson and served as a chairwoman for the Board of Reading is Fundamental and the President's Advisory Committee for Women.
Luci Baines Johnson, Lynda Robb's sister, told radio station WTOP News that Chuck had been released from the hospital, but Lynda remains hospitalized for smoke inhalation.
Rescue teams responded to the fire on Wednesday morning. They have not yet determined what caused the fire.
A video the Fairfax County Fire Rescue posted to Twitter said the fire started on the first floor of the home. It shows rescue crews shooting a stream of water at the blaze.
Tom Johnson, a family friend and former spokesman for Lyndon B. Johnson, told WTOP that the home, worth millions of dollars, is now "a total loss."
The blaze was so strong it could be seen from the other side of the Potomac River, with the smoke traveling for miles, the station reported.
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Rescue crews from neighboring Arlington County and Montgomery County, Maryland, also responded to the fire. Photos show flames consuming the home.
Northam tweeted that he and his wife, Pam, were saddened to hear of the fire at the Robbs' home.
"Our thoughts are with Chuck and Lynda as they recover from this tragedy," he said.
The stretch of Chain Bridge Road where the Robbs reside is a few miles outside the nation's capital and home to a number of wealthy political figures and diplomats.
Tax records show the home has a value of $5.5 million, with an adjacent parcel of land owned by the Robbs valued at $3.4 million.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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