FAIRMONT -- Although an early morning fire destroyed a warehouse that was housing furniture from Farmer's Furniture on Tuesday, it won't ruin anyone's Christmas. No one was injured and insurance adjusters haven't placed a dollar value on the fire damage yet.
That's because the Christmas orders were housed in another warehouse and are undamaged.
"Thank the Lord," said Karan Bullock, manager of Farmer's Furniture. "The customers' Christmas is not going to be affected."
The fire, whose cause is unknown, won't have any major effect on the furniture store's operations. A truck full of furniture pulled up in front of the store about 8 a.m. Tuesday, Bullock said. She said she's just pleased that the truck didn't arrive a day early, because that furniture would have been stored in the warehouse that burned.
The South Robeson Rescue Squad's building and most of its equipment also were destroyed by the fire. But the rescue squad's ambulance, a crash truck, a Suburban vehicle and three boats were saved and the department is still operating.
Although the rescue squad lost its radio equipment, Fairmont residents won't notice any loss in response, because when people dial 911, they will now reach a dispatcher in the Robeson County Sheriff's Department instead of a Fairmont dispatcher, said Fairmont City Fire Chief James Thompson.
The town's fire hall, which houses Fairmont City and Fairmont Rural fire departments, suffered water and smoke damage. Thompson credited the work of firefighters and the Lumberton ladder truck with saving the fire hall.
Flare-up today
Flames flared up again between the rescue squad and fire department early this morning, doing more damage to the fire hall, said Fairmont Town Manager Ben Hill.
The original damage to the fire hall had already caused four events to be canceled or moved to another location, said town Recreation Director Mickey Williamson. Williamson said that ongoing aerobics and karate events also will have to be canceled or moved.
About 1,300 residents lost telephone service. But service was restored to about half of them Tuesday night, said John McKinney, a spokesman for BellSouth. This morning about 600 to 700 customers were still without service and those should be restored by noon Thursday, he said. The repairs are temporary but should be made permanent on Friday, McKinney said.
Although Hill said it could take six months to rebuild from the fire, he remains optimistic. He called the fire "a setback" for the town but added, "It's something we can live with."
Cause unknown
Detective Sgt. Rory McKeithan, the Robeson County Sheriff's Office's arson investigator, said the cause of the fire is still unknown. And, he said, it might never be known, because the warehouse was destroyed.
He said the fire couldn't have been electrical, because no electric power was on in the building and no electrical storm hit during the night. But, he said, it was windy when the fire started, which helped to fan the flames.
The warehouse was made of old pine, which Hill called "fat-lighter. It's just like gasoline, very flammable."
SBI agent R. Larry Gatrell said that vagrants and an unlighted candle had been found in the warehouse a few weeks ago.
The debris in the warehouse will be smoldering for days, Thompson said, and someone will remain to monitor it.
Ten fire departments and more than 50 firefighters helped to extinguish the blaze. Thompson said the fire was the worst of four warehouse fires in Fairmont in 20 years.
At one point on Tuesday, the smoke from fire could easily be inhaled two miles away on Turkey Branch Road, Thompson said. Assistant fire Chief Michael Page said the flames could be seen shooting upward 100 feet.
