Smoke From Gaston County Fire Could Be Seen For More Than A Mile

Firefighters said a house fire near McAdenville in Gaston County started on the back porch.

Firefighters said an elderly grandmother tried to fight a fire with a garden hose before flames engulfed her entire house.

They said because the backyard was so close to Interstate 85, they had to pull their truck into the interstate's shoulder to fight the flames.

Firefighters said the family who lives in the home was cooking with a wok and a propane tank on the back deck. They sad some of the fire spread to the wood deck and then the whole backside of the house caught fire.

Andrew Thai, 21, was home sleeping when his father kicked in his bedroom door.

"I saw one of my windows burning. The whole backside of my house lit up, it was just horrible," Thai said.

Thai said his grandmother was cooking on the wood deck using an over-sized wok and propane tank, when the flames spread to the deck.

Firefighters said this week's hot and dry weather contributed to the fire's intensity.

"Under these conditions, there was no way to put it out with a garden hose," said Chief Gary Jackson, with the Community Volunteer Fire Department.

Chief Jackson said an off-duty firefighter driving down I-85 Sunday afternoon saw thick smoke and called his station to see what was going on.

He said no one actually called 911 directly about the blaze.

One McAdenville firefighter had to be transported to the hospital for smoke inhalation. Thai's 77-year-old grandmother suffered second degree burns to her face. She was taken to the hospital.