20 fire departments fight massive house fire in Stanly County

A Stanly County home was destroyed in a multi-alarm fire that broke out late Thursday evening. Crews responded to the house fire around 8 p.m. on Strawberry Lane, which runs between Polk Fork Road and Tite Road in the town of Furr. Firefighters from Stanly, Union and Cabarrus Counties all worked to get the blaze under control. 20 area fire departments were called out to help extinguish the fire. Officials reported no one was hurt after the fire was under control. There is no word on what may have sparked the fire.
WBTV-TV Channel 3

Rock Ridge Fire Department improves insurance rating

Protecting residents in the Rock Ridge community isn’t a task that volunteer firefighters take lightly, nor was the chance to save those residents money. Now thanks to their hard work, improved fire district ratings will result in lower insurance rates starting in May. “There has been a lot of hard work and dedication by all of our members and a lot of help from our mutual aid companies to make this possible,” said Assistant Fire Chief Jim Miller. “Departments are required to demonstrate their performance in front of assigned inspectors, and I was so proud of our guys when it was our turn.” The Office of the State Fire Marshal usually does inspections of departments every five to seven years, but the last inspection for Rock Ridge was in 2007. With the new inspection, the department went from a Class 7 to a Class 4 insurance rating for properties within five miles of the district.
wilsontimes.com

Cary townhouse catches fire, no injuries reported

No one was injured when a townhouse caught fire Friday morning in Cary, according to Town of Cary officials. Authorities received a call referencing a house fire just before 4:30 a.m. at a townhouse complex in the 100 block of Storm Court. Upon arrival, fire crews saw flames coming from the home, which is attached to three other townhomes. Firefighters were able to limit the damage to just the one townhouse. No one was home at the time and no one was injured in any of the adjoining homes. The cause of the fire is under investigation.
CBS17

Two die in LaGrange mobile home fire

A mobile home fire early Thursday morning claimed the lives of two people. Maj. Ryan Dawson, of the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Department, said a call came into 911 at 5 a.m. Thursday reporting a mobile home fire and firefighters from LaGrange and North Lenoir responded to Cypress Grove Drive in the Timberlake Estates Mobile Home Park. After the fire was under control firefighters discovered two bodies inside, Dawson said. Deputies from the Lenoir County Sheriff’s Office responded to the scene, he said. The investigation was still going on at 8 a.m. and the names were not being released until relatives were notified, Dawson said. After firefighters left Lenoir County Emergency Services, the Lenoir County Fire Marshal and SBI were conducting an investigation in the mobile home to determine the cause of the fire.
Kinston Free Press

Former fire chief: Rocky Mount needs auditors to ’peel back that onion’

Rocky Mount is already investigating six murders in the first 50 days of 2019. "We need help. It's almost hard to keep up with the latest controversy," said former fire chief Keith Harris. According to Harris, the flashing lights of police cars have become way too common in the city of roughly 55,000. "Since the beginning of this year, we've had six murders so far," Harris saod. "It's almost a murder a week." While Harris praises the city's police force, he said it has a glaring hole. "We've been without a chief of police now for 15 months," Harris said. Capt. George Robinson has been filling the role on an interim basis, but Harris questions why city leaders can't find a permanent fix. "We've got some very well qualified, able, dedicated police officers on our command staff, but for whatever reason, we will not fill the chief of police job," Harris said. Rocky Mount's website lists 18 vacancies across the city, but the police chief job isn't among them.
CBS17

Knightdale: Nonprofit holds fundraiser for universal firefighter safety

Firefighters wear a lot of protective gear, but one of the most important pieces is the hood that goes under their helmet. For years firefighters have worn thin, single-layer hoods that didn't block soot and smoke from reaching their skin. Scientists say this is contributing to higher rates of cancer among firefighters. Now, engineers with North Carolina State University's Wilson School of Textiles are working on a solution - a triple-layer model. "So, instead of just blocking the fire, how do we block the soot and smoke and everything else from getting to their skin?" said Bryan Ormond, an engineering professor. Since 2016, researchers at NC State have been working under a federal grant on standards for an improved fire hood. "So we can put this in there and it's going to stop all the particles," Ormond said. "It actually seals around your neck," said Allen Williford, a Wake County firefighter.
WRAL-TV CBS 5 Raleigh

No children inside when portion of roof collapses at Conover daycare

Emergency crews were on the scene early Thursday morning at a Catawba County daycare after part of the roof collapsed. Police and firefighters were called around 7 a.m. to the Rainbow Child Care Center off Fairgrove Church Road SE in Conover. Channel 9 reporter Dave Faherty was the first on the scene and reported that a handful of rooms were damaged but that no children were inside when the collapse happened. Faherty watched all morning as employees moved items out of the building, which was built in 1986.
WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte

Concord Mills mall evacuated after firefighters put out small fire

The Concord Fire Department said people were evacuated from Concord Mills mall Wednesday afternoon after a small fire. Officials said they were called to the mall around 4:20 p.m. for the fire near Bed Bath & Beyond. They said sprinklers helped contain the flames, and the fire was quickly put out by firefighters. No one was hurt, but authorities said the mall was closed because of smoke and water clean up. Officials are asking people to avoid the area.
WSOC-TV ABC 9 Charlotte

Apartment fire offers hard lessons for Raleigh renters

A resident of Raleigh’s Enclave at Crossroads apartment complex is missing a pet and living with donated furniture one week after she and many others lost everything in a fire. It’s been one week since 16 units were damaged in a fire at the complex. Amber Ricker, who had lived in her apartment for two years, lost some things that are irreplaceable. “We have nothing left from that, and my father’s ashes were in there, and I cannot salvage them,” she said. Ricker is also still looking for one of her cats, who went missing following the fire. “I’m hoping that she does return,” she said. “We won’t be surprised if she doesn’t, but if she does it will literally be a miracle.”
WRAL-TV CBS 5 Raleigh