CALDWELL COUNTY, N.C. — A fire that started near a chimney destroyed two condominiums on Lake Hickory late Sunday night. The blaze broke out around 10:30 p.m. along Corbin Lane, south of Granite Falls in Caldwell County.
Nearly two dozen firefighters from four different departments responded to the scene in temperatures that dropped into the mid-teens.
The extreme cold left much of the upper floors covered in a layer of ice from water used to combat the flames, and investigators spent Monday helping families salvage belongings from the remains of the units.
Investigators confirmed that the fire originated near a chimney. Although the blaze destroyed two units, official reporting noted that structural fire walls successfully prevented the flames from spreading to adjacent condominiums.
Shane Clark, an investigator with the county, credited the walls with saving the rest of the building.
“You can see just looking out here if they hadn’t been in place it would have burned down more than two units,” Clark said. “The fire walls kept the fire in check. Just keeps a fire from going 2 hours on either side.”
Residents in the building were initially unaware of the fire until someone noticed flames from outside.
One of the residents, who works as a firefighter in Hickory, began alerting neighbors to evacuate the building. That firefighter was renting one of the destroyed units with his fiancée and her 4-year-old son.
The Hickory Fire Department and Grace Chapel Fire Department are now providing assistance to the family.
The resident firefighter, who asked that his face not be shown, expressed gratitude for the response from his colleagues and the surrounding community.
“It feels amazing. I know the community is strong,” the firefighter said. “I work with a lot of these guys, and I know they got a big heart for people they don’t know. And that’s why they picked this profession. When they showed up, they were like, ‘Hey, you okay…you okay?’”
Emergency crews faced significant logistical challenges due to the weather and local infrastructure. Firefighters reported that water nozzles began to freeze as they worked in 15-degree temperatures.
Because the closest fire hydrant was located on the opposite side of Highway 321, officials were forced to shut down the highway for approximately 4 hours to run hoses across the road.
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