SALISBURY — Two families were displaced this morning after a fire caused significant damage to a Grady Street apartment building.
Deborah Lineberger of the American Red Cross said Foley Blackwell, 1117 Grady St., and two children, ages 1 and 2, are getting assistance after the fire.
Her neighbor, Tracy Fox, and her daughter and 6-year-old granddaughter are also staying in a hotel room provided by the Red Cross.
“We gave them a place to stay and a hotel room and we also gave them money for food,” she said.
Fortunately, Lineberger said bedrooms in both apartments were not damaged by the fire and the two families did not need clothes.
The Red Cross did provide the families with detergent that should help remove the smell of smoke, she said.
Rowan County Communications said the call came in about 5:30 a.m. Salisbury Fire and Police departments responded.
Neighbors said the fire is believed to have started at the back of the home near the meter boxes and then spread to the roof.
The ridge of the roof was split and Salisbury firefighters continued spraying parts of the home’s ceiling Thursday morning.
Small clumps of drywall and insulation were scattered around the homes where firefighters had worked to put out the flames.
Meter boxes at the back of the building, which separated the two residences, were scorched. A large hole had been made by firefighters around the wiring.
“They won’t be going back to either apartment any time soon,” Lineberger said.
Officials are continuing to investigate the fire.
Salisbury Fire officials did not immediately respond to requests for comment.