Fire damages apartments at housing project
By Lee Williams
Published in News on February 28, 2007 1:52 PM
Two families were forced to evacuate after fire sparked from faulty wiring damaged two adjacent apartments on Edgerton Street Tuesday.
More than 13 firefighters in six fire trucks raced to the homes at about 3 p.m. to snuff out the blaze that broke out at 1725 Edgerton St., Apartment A, and spread to Apartment B.
Tierra Newsome lived in Apt. A, and Anita White lived in Apt. B, Goldsboro Assistant Fire Chief Jerry Langston said.
As smoke poured from the units, residents dashed inside and tried to drag the furniture out to save it from the fire.
They plopped two brown couches down on the front lawn and tried to get more property, but Langston stopped them so they would not get hurt.
No one was injured in the blaze. The cause of the fire that damaged the two public housing units was electrical in nature, Langston said.
"It started from behind the stove in the wall," Langston said.
Langston said the apartments managed by the Goldsboro Housing Authority were up to fire codes. He added it was not unusual for a property to experience an electrical problem.
"That could happen in a new home," Langston said.
Firefighters worked quickly to stop the fire that spread inside the walls of the apartments and extended to the attic. It took firefighters 10 minutes to contain the fire, but they remained on the scene for more than an hour to prevent a possible rekindle.
Both apartments received water and light smoke damage. However, Apt. A sustained damage to the kitchen and Apt. B sustained damage in the bathroom, he added.
The fire caused about $15,000 in damage to each apartment. The property was valued at $200,000.