Afternoon Fire Damages North Carolina Apartments
Sarah Barnard was reading an e-mail from her mother when she smelled smoke. She opened the door and heard fire engine sirens.
A fire about 12:30 p.m. damaged eight units of Summerwalk Apartments, off U.S. 601. No one was hurt. Thirty-five firefighters battled the fire for more than two hours.
The complex, built in 1985, had smoke detectors but didn't have sprinklers or an automated fire alarm, residents said. The fire's cause was not immediately clear.
Resident said they heard no warning from smoke detectors.
Sprinklers were not required at the time of construction, said City Manager Brian Hiatt. The state now requires sprinklers for newly constructed apartments of three stories or higher.
At least one N.C. city is thinking of going beyond state requirements. In Greensboro, the fire department is considering requiring sprinklers in all apartments, said Fire Marshal David Douglas.
A representative for Cornerstone Realty of Richmond, Va., which owns the Concord complex, could not be reached.
By the time Barnard opened her door, a firefighter stood at the entrance.
"Get out right now," he told her, Barnard recalled. She grabbed her cat, Zoe, put on some shoes and left.
She and her roommate, Katie Kilday, were told that their belongings sustained water and smoke damage. The two planned to stay Thursday night with Kilday's father, who lives nearby.
A few hours after the fire, Efird and her fiance, Jeff Billerman, sat in the apartment complex office. They planned to move into another apartment in the complex Thursday evening, they said.
"We lost everything," said Efird, her eyes red and her makeup smeared. "There's nothing left."