Eric Hoke, owner of the newly built 5,000 square-foot home at Emory Gale Lane and Green Level Church Road, says he heard a pop. He went outside and found his Range Rover on fire. That fire eventually spread to the home.
Hoke dialed 911. Although he is in the Morrisville Fire District, a Cary station was closer. Cary did respond first with one truck then minutes later, Morrisville firefighters arrived, followed by several other departments.
Hoke believes fire crews were hampered by protocol and jurisdictional issues, slowing down the effort. However, Morrisville Chief Tony Chiotakis says firefighters were dealing with the difficulty of getting to the secluded home and finding enough water. The closest water source was 3.5 miles away.
"We lost all the antiques. My family settled Old Salem and all the antiques that were a part of my family and the settling of Old Salem were lost there," Hoke says.
There were no reports of injuries. Chiotakis also says sprinklers in the home might have slowed the fire down to give firefighters more time to set up portable pools and build up their water supply.
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