Fire destroys house, kills pet
Apr. 13—THOMASVILLE — Investigators are trying to determine what caused a ferocious fire that burned a house to its foundation in Thomasville on Sunday.
No one was hurt in the blaze, though the family's pet was killed, a fire official saiad.
The fire happened shortly before noon at the one-story house at 101 Veach Court. The fire was so intense that crews dispatched from the fire station on National Highway saw the smoke from 5 miles away, said Michael Wilson, Thomasville Fire & Rescue battalion chief.
The first Thomasville Fire Department unit arrived to find heavy smoke and the building engulfed in fire, Wilson told The High Point Enterprise.
"The house was already collapsing when the first units arrived," Wilson said. "So we made no interior attack — everything was exterior attack only. It was contained to the walls and the foundation."
No one was home when the fire began. The resident had gone out to get fuel for his lawn mower, Wilson said.
"He was on-scene when we arrived," Wilson said. "He had gotten a call from his neighbor to let him know the house was on fire."
The family is being assisted by a local American Red Cross chapter.
Investigators were working through the rubble Monday to seek the cause of the fire.
"We've had to get heavy equipment out here to dig through it," Wilson said. "It's going to be a long process."
The house, which dates from the 1990s, is a total loss, though a dollar estimate on the damage wasn't available. The house had a tax-assessed value of $87,210, according to Davidson County property records.
Firefighters received reports from callers to 911 of loud explosions during the fire, though Wilson said Monday it wasn't clear to investigators what would have caused any explosions.
pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
pjohnson@hpenews.com — 336-888-3528 — @HPEpaul
