Rowan Co. mill plant fire could have been worse

LANDIS, N.C.,None — Firefighters are at the scene of a massive plant fire that broke out around 4:30 a.m. Thursday in Landis.

The plant is located at the Old Park Dale Mill on Meriah Street.

One firefighter had to be treated for heat exhaustion.  The firefighter was taken to a nearby ambulance and treated.

The firefighter is expected to be OK.

The fire was out by 6:15 a.m., officials said.

The fire broke through the roof and spread toward the rear of the building.

Firefighters said the sprinkler system is not operating and there is no way to connect to it.

The fire broke out in the rear of the building, which has been closed.

There are several businesses in the front of the building, including Landis Gourmet Mushroom and a bicycle repair shop.

The owner of the building said there is also a truck repair shop and airplane repair shop.

Through the smoke, flashlights marked where firefighters were on the roof of the Old Parkdale Cotton Mill as people, including

John Herron, watched, wondering how it would affect his business.

Herron runs Cotton Mill Mushroom Farms in one section of the mill.

All morning firefighters focused their efforts on the roof in the back section of the mill while Herron wondered if it would

spread to other parts of the building.

After firefighters cleared, he took us inside and showed us puddles of water on the floor, but he says he's relived.

"It's fine. There's no smoke damage. It's fine. I'll be good to go," Herron said.

A number of businesses lease out portions of the old mill. The fire was concentrated to the back of the building used for storage.

The owner of the property, Marty Fuller, who told us it's not as bad as he thought it was going to be.

Fuller said this morning he wasn't certain how bad it was, when he had a chance to come around back and look, he said it

could have been a lot worse.

"It's really not bad at all. When they built this mill they have fire walls in different sections and they kept the fire from the rest

of the mill. so really what we just lost is this part right here," Fuller said.

He believes the fire started as a result of some work they were doing on the building yesterday.

He says they were cutting old air ducts from the building and thinks the fire started in that area.

Firefighters tell us the sprinkler system wasn't working, but Fuller will not face any fines.

WSOC