Woman displaced after fire destroys apartment
By Ethan Smith
Published in News on October 4, 2016 9:57 AM
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A woman has been displaced and her home severely damaged after a stove burner that was left on caused a fire to break out at 720 Waters St. around 8:30 a.m. Monday.
Suretha Williams, who is an employee at Goldsboro City Hall, said a fellow city worker notified her that her apartment was on fire.
Williams said she is the only one that lives at the apartment and did not know what she was going to do now that her home had been so damaged.
"I've been through a 1999 flood and would've like to have lost my life and my kids, and now this," Williams said. "I don't know what to do. I go through so much already."
After she was allowed inside her home to see the extent of the damage, she was helped back out of the apartment as tears streamed down her face and Goldsboro Fire Chief Gary Whaley held her arm to help her balance as she walked down the steps and kept his arm around her to comfort her.
Goldsboro firefighters grabbed a chair off of the porch of 724 Waters St. and placed it in front of 722 Waters St. so Williams could sit down near her apartment.
Several other city employees showed up at the scene to comfort her and provide reassurance in the face of her losing her home.
Williams said she has lived in the apartment for roughly five years, and lives alone. She has one daughter, who is currently attending college.
"I don't know how I'm going to explain this to my child," Williams said.
Assistant Goldsboro Fire Chief James Farfour said firefighters had the fire under control in less than five minutes.
The fire started on the rear right burner on the stove on top of the oven in the kitchen in the apartment, Farfour said, and the kitchen sustained extensive fire damage.
Farfour said the entire residence sustained a large amount of smoke and heat damage.
"The fire got to an extensive heat and caused crazing on the windows," Farfour said. "A little longer and the windows would've blown out, but we got to it before that happened."
The fire was called in by one of Williams' neighbors, Billy Robinson.
"I was sitting on my porch and saw the smoke coming out of the second story window," Robinson said.
Firefighters were able to identify the source of the fire by looking for what Farfour called a "V-pattern," which is a V-shaped burn mark that point to the source of the fire.
"This one was very evident, very easy to pick up," Farfour said.
Williams will be put in a hotel for three days, she said.
After that, Farfour said either the American Red Cross or Goldsboro Housing Authority will relocate Williams to another home.
A neighboring apartment, 718 Waters St., had slight smoke damage.
Waters Street, which is just off of Holly Street and intersects with Eunice Street, was completely blocked for more than an hour while firefighters worked the scene.
Goldsboro Fire Department Engines 1, 3 and 4, Ladder 1 and Wayne County EMS responded to the fire.