Unoccupied home catches fire
By Andrew Bell
Published in News on August 17, 2006 1:50 PM
Goldsboro firefighters were called in early this morning to put out a fire that severely damaged an unoccupied home, Assistant Chief Gary Whaley said.
The single story brick home at 212 Wilmington Ave. caught fire at about 3:30 this morning, Whaley said.
Three Goldsboro fire engines and a ladder were called in to put the fire out, which took about 20 minutes. The 14 firemen at the scene stayed for about another three hours to salvage any property in the house, he said. Damages were estimated at about $20,000.
The home, owned by James Blount of Charlotte, had been under reconstruction and had an estimated value of $35,000.
When firefighters arrived at the scene, Whaley said one of the fire engines used its thermal imaging camera to determine where the blaze was in the house. What firefighters discovered was that the house had no floor, and firemen were told not to enter the structure.
"We stopped the firefighters from going in. If they had, we'd have probably had two or three of them get injured," Whaley said.
The cause of the fire is believed to be accidental, but Whaley said the investigation is still under way.