By Shelley Smithssmith@salisburypost.com
A fire at 202 Williams Drive in Rockwell left one family without a kitchen Thursday morning.
Tim Linker, fire chief of Rockwell City Fire Department, said the fire was contained to the kitchen, but there was smoke damage throughout the house.
“The departments did a quick knock-down on it,” said Linker. “There was a really good response time.”
The call came into dispatch as a fire in the kitchen. Law enforcement officers were first on scene and reported heavy smoke showing.
Responding to the fire were the Rowan County Rescue Squad, the N.C. Highway Patrol, Rockwell Police Department, Granite Quarry, Rockwell City, Rockwell Rural and Faith fire departments.
“Luckily, there is very little water damage,” said Linker.
Homeowner Deatria Amaral, her 3-year-old daughter, and their dog were home when the fire started.
“My daughter and I were watching cartoons, and I smelled something,” said Amaral, who noted she had just put a log on the wood stove, thinking that the burning smell was the log.
“I looked into the kitchen and there were flames coming out of the stove.”
Amaral said the stove and oven were off, and she had nothing cooking.
“I called 911 and ran outside to get my dog,” she said. Amaral said she ran back inside to get her father-in-law’s American flag, which is special to her and her husband.
Amaral’s husband, John, was not home at the time of the fire.
“The firefigthers responded very fast,” said Amaral. “I just hope the house isn’t ruined.”
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.