Ashes from wood stove may have sparked house fire in Landis

LANDIS — Hot ashes are suspected as the cause of a fire that heavily damaged a home on Mount Moriah Church Road early Thursday.

Lynne Goodman of 1035 Mount Moriah Road told firemen she had cleaned out a large wood stove just before leaving home Thursday.

The stove, used to heat the house and provide hot water, was in a small building adjacent to the single-story brick home.

Shortly after she left, a neighbor on Kimmons Street saw flames breaking through plate glass windows in the rear of the house and called 911.

Landis, Kannapolis and China Grove firefighters responded.

They found heavy fire in the den and living room area at the rear of the home, with intense heat and smoke in other areas.

Although a neighbor reported that Goodman had left, firefighters did a room-by-room search to make sure there were no other occupants.

Landis Fire Chief Reed Linn said the fire was under control within 30 minutes.

While two rooms sustained heavy fire damage, Linn said the rest of the house sustained extreme heat damage. No dollar estimate of the damage was available. “The damage is substantial,” said Linn.

Goodman, whose husband, Clyde, died last year, is staying with family.

Firefighters stayed on the scene for several hours after the call helping with salvage, and checking for hot spots. With a brisk wind blowing, there was a danger that the fire could re-ignite.

The Atwell Volunteer Fire Department provided back up for Landis while firefighters were engaged. Firefighters were back at the scene today doing some final checks.

Linn said the fire appears accidental and most likely started with the ashes from the stove, since that is the area where the blaze started.

The fire chief said that although Goodman put the ashes in a metal bucket, she may have placed them too close to wood or other combustible material.

This was the first major house fire in Landis since last winter.

It was also one of the first firefighting incidents in nearly a year in which the department relied on the town’s water system instead of trucking in water.

“We used the hydrant,” Linn said. “There was no problem, we had plenty of water.”

The town’s water plant is located nearby, just off Mount Moriah Church Road.

And with emergency water expected to start flowing from Kannapolis next week, the fire department will again depend on hydrant s for fire fighting, the chief said.

Contact Jessie Burchette at 704-797-4254 or jburchette@salisburypost.com .