Firemen Escape Disaster
Floor Collapses Into Basement Seconds After Search Crew Leaves House

BY MATTHEW WINTER
SALISBURY POST

Several firefighters narrowly escaped disaster in a burning house off Faith Road on Sunday.

Just seconds after the firefighters finished searching the home, the floor collapsed into the basement in a fiery heap, a Rowan County assistant fire marshal said.

A pet chow died in the fire, though firefighters were able to save a smaller dog.

No one was home when the fire started.

Investigators believe lightning struck a phone line running to the home at 6250 Faith Road sometime between 11 a.m. and 11:30 a.m. The coursing electricity apparently sparked a fire in the home's partial basement.

It took firefighters about three hours to gain control of the blaze, Assistant Fire Marshal John Thomason said this morning.

It took so long mainly because the basement fire consumed the main floor, he said.

"They're really lucky they didn't loose some guys, because they had been in it just before the floor fell," Thomason said.

Fire investigators are also trying to learn if a laboratory in the home included flammable chemicals that fed the blaze.

Paramedics treated four firefighters at the scene for smoke inhalation, and one firefighter was taken to the hospital after inhaling toxic fumes from burning chemicals, Thomason said. "He just went to get checked out, and he's fine."

Sheriff's Department records indicate Wanetta Comer owns the home and rented it to Hugh House. House is self-employed, and could not be reached for comment this morning.

House apparently had been out of town since Friday when the fire started. A family member alerted him to the fire and he showed up as firefighters gained control of the blaze, said Lt. John Sifford of the Rowan Sheriff's Department.

The fire destroyed the home, worth an estimated $85,000.

More than 60 firefighters from about half-dozen departments battled the fire. Departments responding or providing backup were: Rockwell Rural, Faith, Bostian Heights, Atwell, China Grove, South Salisbury, Granite Quarry Gold Hill and Rockwell City. The Rowan Rescue Squad also provided assistance.