Chemical mix causes fire at Kannapolis home

Published 12:00 am Sunday, November 29, 2015

Staff report

KANNAPOLIS — An accidental mixture of solvents caused a minor fire at a Kannapolis home Friday night.

The Kannapolis Fire Department was called to a North Cannon Boulevard home shortly before 9 p.m. Friday, according to a press release. Rowan County EMS also responded.

On arrival, they found family members “complaining of a strange odor and irritation to their eyes,” according to a press release.

Monitoring by fire crews found elevated and potentially harmful chemical readings which began to worsen during the next hour.

A small fire broke out, which was immediately extinguished through an exterior window.

Haz-mat crews found several rags with various solvents, which were believed to have been the source of the problem.

“This was a unique call in the fact that there were initially no outward reasons or cause for the odor and subsequent fire,” Battalion Chief David Winecoff said.

The Landis Fire Department assisted with city coverage while Cabarrus EMS provided medical monitoring for the haz-mat team members. Kannapolis Police officers also responded to the scene.

No additional injuries were reported, and no evacuations were ordered.