Brush fire spreads to Riverside Gun Club; ’50s era building partially burned
Published 12:00 am Friday, December 23, 2016
- JON C. LAKEY / SALISBURY POST Firefighters from several Eastern rowan county Fire departments responded to a fire at the Riverside Gun Club on Thursday afternoon. The former chicken house that was converted to an indoor shooting range was damaged after a small control burn of yard waste inadvertently ignited the end of the building. Thursday, December 22, 2016, in Rowan County, N.C.
By Shavonne Walker
shavonne.walker@salisburypost.com
RICHFIELD — Firefighters responded fairly quickly to the Riverside Gun Club on Thursday and were able to save much of the metal structure after a leaf brush fire got out of control and set the building on fire.
Pooletown Fire Chief Ryan Barkley arrived first on the scene to fire in the structure. He was immediately met by someone at the club who explained he’d been burning a pile of leaves in a trench on the side of the building when the wind picked up. The burned leaves caught the side of the wall on fire and spread into the rafters, Barkley said.
The building is a former chicken house that has been around since the 1950s, but has been used as a gun range since the 1980s.
Once firefighters were able to extinguish the fire, they began using fans to blow smoke out of the building.
The following agencies responded: Pooletown, Rockwell Rural, West Liberty Volunteer, Gold Hill, and Richfield-Misenheimer fire departments as well as Rowan County Rescue Squad.
Firefighters remained on the scene to ensure there was no more fire along the roof area and the smoke was blown out using the fans.
Contact reporter Shavonne Walker at 704-797-4253.
