Two people burned, dog rescued in west Charlotte boarding house fire

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By Paul Boyd

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Two people were rushed to the hospital after a fire at a boarding house in west Charlotte Friday morning.

More than two dozen firefighters responded around 7:30 a.m. to the home on Fern Avenue, where they were able to knock down the flames within 10 minutes.

The house was being leased to four men as a boarding home.

“I was hollering, telling them to 'get out,' 'get out' cause everybody was still in the house,” said Lonnie Larry, who lives in the house. “They hadn't even moved, and the whole house was full of smoke.”

Crews said they found one of the victims inside the home, unconscious, apparently passed out from smoke inhalation.

The other victim was found outside. He said he had to run through the flames to make it out.

Larry and a second roommate found another way to escape.

“There was too much smoke. I can't get out of my room," Larry said. “I put my screen up and jumped out the window."

The fourth man and his small dog were unconscious inside the home, and first responders carried them out to safety.

“The victim was transported priority one to area hospital,” said Jackie Gillmore, of the Charlotte Fire Department. “The animal is fine, but was taken to the veterinarian, as a precaution, to be evaluated.”

Officials said that unattended cooking in the kitchen is to blame for the fire, and that there were no batteries in the smoke detectors.

“The sad thing is, is this detector, had it been operating, would have warned these occupants of what they were about to encounter,” said Battalion Chief Tim Rodgers.

The victims are expected to survive.

Channel 9 investigated Charlotte's Boarding House Laws and found that the leasing arrangement was legal and that no permit was required based on only four occupants.

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