Fire damages historic building in downtown Wilmington

While holding a mask for her safety, Jamie Alfalla stood outside The Graystone Inn on Thursday morning looking up toward the roof and broken windows.

She only got an hour of sleep the night before because of a fire that damaged the historic bed and breakfast in downtown Wilmington on Wednesday night.

"There's still quite a bit of smoke inside," the co-owner said while talking about the damage. "But it's coming out. It's all in the inside. The limestone is kind of indestructible. This building is not going anywhere."

Yellow caution tape wrapped around the building on bushes as restoration crews threw trash bags leaking with water onto a trailer to be hauled away.

Firefighters from the Wilmington Fire Department responded to the blaze at The Graystone Inn at 100 S. Third St. around 10:30 p.m. and worked overnight to put the fire out.

"I could not be more grateful for the work that the put in," Alfalla said. "They were here for hours."

Chuck Pennington, a friend of Alfalla, came to show support. As the former owner of The Verandas, another historic bed and breakfast damaged by hurricanes and fires, he knows what Alfalla is going through. Alfalla and her husband, Ace, purchased The Verandas from Pennington. After the fire, they called him for advice.

"It's devastating," Pennington said. "These people have the right attitude. It happened, they're upset, but they're moving on."

Rebekah Thurston, public information officer for the Wilmington Fire Department, said three firefighters were transported from the scene and received medical treatment for non-life-threatening injuries. There were no civilian injuries.

Alfalla said the fire department's arrival felt like 90 seconds after a call was made.

"They were superfast with the response and every single guest got out safely," she said. "We are so grateful to the fire department and the city of Wilmington."

She said The Graystone was also assisted by Travis Gilbert, executive director of the Historic Wilmington Foundation, who helped with getting the original site plan, an important framed document, out of the building.

"The fire department got it out for us," Alfalla said. "They took a lot of care to make sure the building survived. As you can see, it looks beautiful from the outside. But there's extensive damage outside."

According to a news release from the Wilmington Fire Department, final crews cleared the scene Thursday around 9 a.m. The fire was determined to be accidental and started in the kitchen area.

"The fire was difficult to put out because it got into the walls," she said. "It's harder too because you can't see it and they have to pull drywall to get access to the fire."

“Crews arrived on scene and quickly searched the entire structure to ensure all occupants were out,” said Assistant Chief of Operations Derek Mickler. “They then began making access through the interior walls to locate any fire extension and initiated a coordinated fire attack.”

The Graystone, originally called The Bridgers Mansion, was built in the early 1900s and recently underwent extensive renovations. It also houses the Preston Restaurant, which opened in early June. Thurston said most of the fire damage was on the third floor near the attic. There's smoke and water damage throughout the building.

"We love Wilmington and we were so excited to be able to join the food scene here and so excited to be able to reopen," she said. "Now, we'll do it all over again."

Alfalla said the recovery will take about 6 to 8 months.

Thurston said people staying at the inn were transported to another building owned by The Graystone.

"We have an incredible staff," Alfalla said. "They were here all night, waiting, trying to see what was happening and we're excited to try to keep the ball rolling."

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Reporter Chase Jordan can be reached at cjjordan@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Fire damages historic building in downtown Wilmington