Fires Hit 2 Wake County Homes

Cary, N.C. — Firefighters battled two blazes at homes around Cary as storms strained emergency personnel throughout the region Friday night.

Fire engulfed a home at 101 Lyncroft Lane in the Landsdowne subdivision in Cary about midnight, authorities said.

A mother and daughter in the house managed to get out safely, said police. Two other family members were not home at the time.

Fire officials said the home suffered damage, but they did not know its full extent.

Lightning sparked another fire in a multimillion-dollar home just outside eastern Cary earlier Friday night.

Personnel and apparatus from the Fairview, Cary, Holly Springs and Swift Creek fire departments responded to the fire, which was called in at about 8 p.m.

Fire crews faced an additional challenge: The subdivision does not have a fire hydrant.

"If there was a fire hydrant in front of the house, it would not have made a difference. Unfortunately, again, the fire had a big head start on us, and we did the best we could," said Mike Gerke, with the Swift Creek Fire Department.

Fire crews transported more than 200,000 gallons of water from about a mile away. The water was dumped into a container that looked like a swimming pool, and then pumped to fight the fire.

Penny Road was closed to allow fire trucks clear access to the house at 3405 Birk Bluff Court.

The subdivision doesn't have fire hydrants because it's outside the town limits and doesn't receive municipal water service.

"(I would) definitely prefer to have fire hydrants, but there isn't much you can do about that. The firefighters do a great job of shuttling the water. I mean, as soon as they set up, it's just like having fire hydrants," said neighbor Tripp Loyd.

No one was home at the time, but the fire destroyed the house, said fire officials.

The 7,785-square-foot house and 1.6 acre lot are listed in Wake County tax records as being assessed at $1.5 million in January 2003.

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Latest Comments

Flipper...I hear that the house was still smoldering today and that there was a sprinkler system in place. How does a sprinkler help the fire from rekindling?

New York Yankee
July 30, 2007 11:02 p.m.

i never did see a pond down there. if we can't see it, we can't use it. keep in mind we arrived at 8pm, after a rain, with our eyes focused on a fire with possible lives inside. we can use ponds/pools/rivers/etc to draft from, but we had a water supply established as soon as the second engine arrived (within 5 minutes of first on scene).

RPD07
July 30, 2007 10:09 p.m.

I posted this question on an earlier version of the story that no longer exists. I know and am familiar with all of the houses on this street. My question to the fire dept is why was the pond located a little over 100' from the house not used for water? Is there some pump design restriction that kept it from being a source of water? I'm not trying to be cynical, but I am curious as I don't have hydrants near my home and would rely on pond pumped water in case of a fire. My highest respect to those who battled the fire, as well as my sympathy for the family who lost their home.

koolbike1
July 30, 2007 5:03 p.m.

Regarding water supply: it is unlikely that hydrants would have saved this house. The rural fire departments in this area are well skilled in water shuttle operations, and we immediately were able to establish a substantial and continuous flow of water to the apparatus fighting fire. This includes a ladder truck that is capable of flowing well over 1500 gallons per minute.

Well systems are typically unable to deliver the quantity and flow of water required to fight fire, which is why they typically do not feed hydrants (and why we would not utilize them even if they did exist).

We have received negative criticism for not allowing reporter vehicles on the street which was crowded with charged water supply lines, and from neighbors on subsequent days for creating a "disturbance". All I can say is that there could not have been a better outcome given the circumstances and we literally risked several lives to attempt recovery. Our condolences to the family, but let it go people.

Flipper
July 30, 2007 3:18 p.m.

I was one of the first responding fire fighters on Birk Bluff Ct. I feel compelled to clear up some of the questions raised in this forum. The fire, likely ignited by a lightning strike, had been burning in the attic space for considerable time prior to our being notified, and that is the primary reason that our aggressive initial interior fire attack was not successful. Within 5 minutes of our arrival the fire had vented from the roof and began consuming the second floor.

I should point out that two of our fire fighters were nearly killed as a heavy chandelier fell from the ceiling above the front door, largely due to the amount of time the bracings on the fixture were exposed to heat upon our arrival.

More on water supply in next post.

Flipper
July 30, 2007 3:14 p.m.