Sept. 23--A fire at a three-unit apartment building in the Bonnie Doone area left one person dead Saturday night.
At 11:56 p.m., the Fayetteville Fire Department responded to a fire at 616 Dashland Drive, according to a news release. At the time, flames and smoke were seen coming from the structure.
A person was found dead inside one of the double-wide mobile home apartments, the release said. The deceased's name, age and address have not been released.
A 39-year-old neighbor who lives beside the burned apartment at the end of Dashland Drive said the complex's maintenance man lived in the building.
"There are three rentals in there (the burned structure), but there was nobody living in there besides him," said the neighbor, who asked not to be identified.
The deceased also had a couple of pit bulls who were killed in the blaze, the man said
"He was a pretty cool guy. He did his job," he said. "He just started being the maintenance man about six months ago."
The neighbor said most people refer to the cluster of double-wides at the end of Dashland Drive as part of the Fieldcrest Apartments.
No one answered the office phone for Fieldcrest Apartments on Sunday afternoon.
The burned yellow-colored apartment with green shutters was cordoned off with yellow tape Sunday. One side of the building -- the one closest to the neighbor -- was completely gutted.
The man said he was lying in his room at the time of the fire. "I looked at the window and saw a big orange light," he said. "I looked out a big window and saw big flames coming out. They were coming out real high. We didn't know if he was inside there or not."
No estimate on the damage was available, and the cause hasn't been determined.
"Nothing seems suspicious at this time," said Assistant Chief Mitchell Morgan of the Fayetteville Fire Department.
The fire remains under investigation.
Staff writer Michael Futch can be reached at [email protected] or 486-3529.
Copyright 2013 - The Fayetteville Observer, N.C.
