Fire destroys house

A firefighter observes fire damage Tuesday at a home in western Rowan County off N.C. Highway 150. Photo by Karissa Minn, Salisbury Post.

A fire truck became stuck in front of the burning house on a long driveway covered in melting snow and ice. Photo by Karissa Minn, Salisbury Post.

By Karissa Minn

kminn@salisburypost.com

A fire burned through a western Rowan County house Tuesday afternoon while the family was out.

A call to 911 at 1:59 p.m. reported a house fire on Beechwood Drive in Salisbury, off N.C. 150.

David Linker, assistant fire chief with Locke Fire Department, said the fire was mostly out by 3 p.m. The cause of the fire had not been determined as of late Tuesday.

Linker saidhe didn't know the extent of the damage, but thought it would be severe.

"I'd imagine it's probably a total loss on the inside," Linker said.

The man renting the property, Melvin Hurley, came home from Walmart with his family to see smoke billowing out of the house.

"I ran to the front door and went in — I know I shouldn't have — and there were flames right there where my TV used to be," he said. "I couldn't see nothin' in there, there was so much smoke."

Hurley, 38, lives in the house with his wife Birgit, 40, and their children, Samanta, 17, Timesey, 15, and Justin Dean, 9. They rent the house through Wagner Realty from an out-of-state owner.

Though five firetrucks answered the call, a long driveway covered with melting snow and ice prevented all but one from parking near the house. That truck didn't even get as close as it normally would.

"This is as far as the truck got, and it got stuck up in the snow," Linker said. "We're going to have to get a wrecker, I guess, to get him out of here."

The other trucks ran their hoses along the sloped driveway to help fight the fire. Locke, West Rowan, Landis, China Grove and Atwell fire departments all responded to the call.

Hurley made sure his family's dog and puppies got out safely. Most of what they own, though, was left to the fire.

"I feel like somebody just ripped the rug out from under me," he said. "I mean, we've lost everything. Probably nothing is left in there that's not either smoke-damaged or the flames got to it."

Linker said that the Red Cross had been contacted about providing assistance to the family.

As a former active member of the U.S. Army, Hurley said he is used to having to rebuild his life.

"I've moved back and forth from the United States to Germany, back to the United States and back to Germany," he said. "It's always the same thing — we start over."