Residents displaced by Dec. 24 fire
By John Joyce
Published in News on December 30, 2014 1:46 PM
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News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Some of the displaced residents of the Waynesborough House apartments enjoy a meal and one another's company in the lobby of Hampton Inn Monday evening. Residents have been staying with nearby family and friends and in hotels until a crew can repair the damage caused by a fire that occurred on Christmas Eve morning.
An electrical fire at the historic Waynesborough House Christmas Eve forced the mass evacuation of the building's residents, all of whom have since been housed in area hotels.
The cause of the fire remains undetermined, but is believed to have been weather-related.
"We're not sure if there was a lightning strike or what caused it. It was an electrical fire in the panel box and it caused smoke inside the building," Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley said.
The fire began at 12:55 a.m., according to the fire report.
Within minutes, firefighters were in the smoke-filled halls of the building -- home to mostly elderly and disabled residents -- working to evacuate the building.
"It was an all night deal. The Office of Emergency Services and Wayne County EMS were out there with us," Whaley said.
David Weil, whose family owns and operates the 85-unit historic apartment building, declined to be interviewed, but confirmed he has been paying out of pocket to house and to feed each of the evacuated residents.
During the evacuation, residents were ushered down the stairs, out the door and across Center Street to the Paramount Theatre.
Six hours later, they found themselves either at the Hampton Inn or the Econo Lodge in Goldsboro where they remain.
Executive Director of the American Red Cross of Eastern N.C. Vicki LaBelle said 55 residents were being housed at the Hampton Inn in Goldsboro. Others, and possibly their families, have been sheltered at the Econo Lodge, she said.
"We were called early Christmas Eve and made aware there had been an electrical fire," she said.
Since then, the Red Cross and its community partners have been seeing to it that the residents have had hot meals each day, many of them coming from area restaurants such as McCalls Bar-B-Q and Seafood, Jimmy John's and Domino's Pizza.
Mrs. LaBelle said the Bridge and other community churches have also helped by donating food and comfort items.
Many of the Waynesborough residents expressed gratitude to the Weil family, the Red Cross and to the Hampton Inn staff for making sure they have been housed and fed throughout the ordeal.
Still, many of them remain shaken after having been roused from their sleep in the middle of the night.
"I woke up to a 350-pound fireman banging on my door telling me I had to get out," one resident said.
Another resident said the tenants lost all of their food and have not been allowed to go back in to the building to retrieve their personal effects.
"It was a disaster as far as I'm concerned. They had five fire trucks out there for four or five hours," he said.
Electrical workers and contractors were still in the building Monday making repairs. Fans were set about the building to clear the smell of smoke and burnt electrical wiring.
Whaley said he had not yet been informed when the building might reopen. According to the fire report, the building, valued at less than $1 million, suffered an estimated $100,000 in damage.