29 Displaced by Raleigh Apartment Fire

Raleigh, N.C. — Fire destroyed or badly damaged more than two dozen apartments on Wednesday.

The flames were spotted around 1:45 p.m. at the Concord Apartments at 3920 Knickerbocker Parkway in Raleigh, off of Duraleigh Road. It took firefighters about an hour to contain the blaze, but they were able to limit it to the one structure. A nearby apartment building was evacuated as a precaution.

Investigators say pine straw that ringed the building helped fuel the fire. Firefighters are trying to pinpoint where the fire started. Investigators are isolating a second floor area on the West side of the Building.

No one was injured. About 29 residents were displaced by the fire.

Travis Babb said he had just gotten home from work when firefighters banged on his door. Babb and other residents who were home at the time all escaped the burning building. The thick smoke, though, forced the evacuation of nearby apartments.

“I probably don’t have anything to salvage. From my view when I went around, I don’t have a living room floor anymore. It’s all gutted,” said apartment resident Shamika Thompson.

The Red Cross and the apartment complex managers planned to relocate affected residents to other apartments within the complex or sister properties, they said.

The Red Cross opened a shelter at the Ridge Road Baptist Church, at 2011 Ridge Road, to help families displaced by the fire. The shelter will be open for the next day or two.

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I had gotten a notice a few months ago from our apartment manager about a small fire that was thankfully discovered quickly but was caused by cigarette thrown into pine straw. We were asked to be more careful. I've never since "pine straw" used till I moved down here, but my first thought was there's a fire just waiting to happen with that stuff around. Of course, it needs a spark to set it on fire, but with the drought we've been having and everything being so dry, it's no wonder something like this could happen. Regardless of who or what is to blame for this happening, my heart goes out to the families and I already got an e-mail at work asking for donations. Hope more people do something to help them out!

san4short
March 27, 2008 3:01 p.m.

Oh I hope no pets were incinerated inthe fire!

seeingthru
March 27, 2008 12:00 p.m.

As long as the Building Industry controls the Building codes, you will continue to see this happen - no sprinklers, firewalls that end at the attic space, very few requirements for fire resistance materials...

Fires that should be able to be contained in one-apartment will continue to burn entire buildings or complexes, and people will continue to lose everything they own. We've been lucky so far on life and health, but it's only a matter of time before the right fire at the right hour will change all that.

While you look out for your family, they look out for their investment accounts - and to greasing the political wheels to make sure that no changes that might affect their bottom line get enacted. Think about that when you vote this fall.

TechRescue
March 27, 2008 10:44 a.m.

Poor pine straw. Everyone wants to look for somthing to blame so let's blame pine straw. I guess all the paper, books, clothing, plastic and other easily flammable stuff in a person's home had nothing to do with fueling the fire?

7Degrees
March 27, 2008 10:26 a.m.

i have renters insurance also with my auto and I pay 12.00 a month. Its worth having a piece of mind that god forbid anything happen that my family and I would have some cash to replace what we lost and most important we would have money to find a new home. Everyone should check into getting it.