A family will be living in a motor home temporarily after fire damaged their home on East Ridge Road this afternoon.
Phil Leonard, his wife Patricia, and 15-year-old daughter Britney live in the home at 2208 East Ridge Road.
The fire started in a bedroom. The cause hasn’t been determined. The Rowan County Fire Marshal’s Office is investigating.
Firefighters from the Ellis Cross Country Volunteer Fire Department contained the blaze to one end of the home and extinguished it within a few minutes, but smoke damage throughout the house has made it uninhabitable, Chief Jeff Whitley said.
Whitley said the hot weather coupled with the heat from the fire inside the home forced him to rotate small teams of firefighters in and out of the house frequently. Firefighters remained on the scene at 4 p.m. ensuring the fire would not reignite.
The Leonards said they would stay in their motor home until they find a place to rent.