Fire damages Apex townhomes

Apex, N.C. — A fire at an Apex townhome complex destroyed six units Thursday afternoon, fire officials said

Authorities said the fire was reported around 2:30 p.m. at a residence at 118 Anterbury Drive in the Bradley Terrace subdivision off Tingen Road.

Apex Fire Chief Mark Haraway said the fire was contained to one building containing six units. Three were heavily damaged by the fire, and three others sustained damage from water and smoke. Firefighters left the scene by 10:30 p.m.

Residents were allowed to enter and collect belongings from their damaged units if they were deemed safe enough.

The fire also sparked a fire in a wooded area behind the building, Haraway said.

Firefighters rescued a dog from one of the units after they heard him barking in his crate.

There were no injuries.

Haraway said the cause could be carelessly discarded smoking materials, like a cigarette or match. The investigation is focused on the back porch area of the residence.

A local chapter of the American Red Cross was assisting the residents displaced by the fire.

“It was just smoke, black smoke everywhere,” resident Fati LaFramboise said. She lives in the middle of the building.

LaFramboise’s downstairs was covered in water and her upstairs was covered in flames.

“They said my upstairs is really damaged, so I lost everything I own,” LaFramboise said.

She moved into her home May 1 and had just gotten her bed into the townhome.

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it is not suprising that it was a discarded smoking material.i have friends that stay at an apartment complex in apex.the people above them smoke and they drop ashes and filters over the balcony which ends up on the patios below, no respect or regard for the people below! there is also pine needles all around the foundation that will only take one spark to displace, maybe permanatly, a lot of people. something should be done to the inconsiderate smokers who think they can discard their smoking material over the sides without thinking that if a fire starts, they might be the ones who cant get to the ground for the blaze! just a thought!my friends chairs on their balcony is covered with ashes and they dont even smoke!

barry333
June 5, 2009 12:21 p.m.

Griswold - I live in Cary and I'm on the board for a townhouse HOA. Eventhough there is no restriction yet in regard to pinestraw around dwellings, we chose to pay the extra money and replace our pinestraw with mulch this year. Many complexes and businesses have not yet gone this route as mulch costs much more that pinestraw does. Unless a unit is burning in front of their faces due to the pinestraw, homeowners will fight the HOA increase in dues for mulch.

chance
June 4, 2009 7:52 p.m.

I thought that as a result of the last drought, many municipalities had decided to restrict the use of pine straw as a mulch material close to multi-family dwellings and/or commercial structures because it is so flammable. Is this not true in Apex? I know at my workplace, in the RTP (Durham Co.), all the pinestraw was removed from the foundation planting areas right next to the buildings. We had several instances of smoldering mulch found, especially at the side doors where people stand and smoke.

Griswold
June 4, 2009 7:11 p.m.

About 2 years ago or so the shrubs were underlined with bark chips. Then it was decided to replace the bark chips with pine needles. If I remember there was a fire in Raleigh where bark chips were blamed for that fires hence the pine needles. The back of this particular complex had more pine needles than most of the units because it was outlined by trees in the back. Yes, the landscapers were working today and maybe that would explain the story about someone asking for a light that was told by the owner whose unit bearded most of the damage.

annemarek
June 4, 2009 6:19 p.m.

Once it makes it to that "gasoline siding", forget about it. Looking at the pics from Sky 5, the cigarette story definitely is a possibility. Either that or something on a deck (if it had one) or patio.

Ladder1
June 4, 2009 6:02 p.m.