The large overnight fire in Durham may bring back memories of a similar one three years ago in Raleigh. During the historic Raleigh fire, flames spread to nine buildings – it was a much bigger fire.
Many people are asking: Why did the Raleigh fire expand so much farther and cause so much more damage than the Durham fire?
Sandy Kromenacker, a fire expert in Raleigh, compared this Durham fire to the memorable downtown Raleigh fire in 2017, saying, "Both properties were under construction. Both properties had the same type of construction: Woodframe construction." According to Durham resident Russell Erickson, the flames in Durham on Tuesday night were huge and took about 30 minutes to get under control.
The downtown Raleigh fire, however, was believed to be Raleigh's largest in almost 100 years. Officials said 130 firefighters from the city and around Wake County battled the blaze "into the night."