Fire does $100,000 in damage to Mount Olive town hall

A fire at Mount Olive Town Hall on Monday has caused an estimated $100,000 in damages that could take months to repair.

Town leaders are now looking to move some government offices elsewhere while trying to keep town business running smoothly.

“Thank God no one was injured or hurt with this fire,” said Mount Olive Mayor Kenneth Talton.

Around 2:30 a.m. on Labor Day, Mount Olive police officers found thick smoke pouring from the roof of Town Hall.

“We saw smoke easing out under the eaves of the building, we felt like we may have had a fire possibly up in the attic,” said Mount Olive Fire Chief Greg Wiggins. “It was eventually located in the front lobby area.”

A fire had broken out in the office of the Town Manager’s secretary. After about 15 minutes, firefighters were able to bring the flames under control – and were left to survey the damage.

“Because the doors were closed in the manager’s office, also the mayor’s office, it contained the fire to the room of origin,” Wiggins said. “It’s certainly an accidental fire, but we believe it to be electrical."

”While the closed doors kept the fire in place, the smoke made its way throughout the building, causing six figures in damage," he added.

Talton said several offices will need to be moved to other government buildings while the Town Hall was repaired, which would be no small undertaking.

“At a minimum, you’re probably looking at three months, best-case scenario,” Talton said.

Mount Olive leaders said while the fire could disrupt some town services in the coming weeks, they were relieved to be rebuilding instead of mourning a loss.

“The number one thing for me is that there was no harm to life, we had no injuries to personnel,” Talton said. “We could have suffered a million dollars worth of loss to the building, but fortunately that did not occur.”

The mayor told WRAL News he hoped the town’s government would be completely up and running in their temporary offices by the end of the week. ​