WEDDINGTON, N.C. — Dozens of firefighters were called to an exclusive Weddington neighborhood after smoke filled a home where several children were sleeping early Monday morning.
Fire crews responded to the fire call at the home on Oxfordshire Road around 6 a.m. When firefighters arrived, they didn’t see any flames, but instead encountered thick black smoke.
Fire personnel from both Mecklenburg and Lancaster counties were called to assist.
The fire marshal told Channel 9 that the fire started when embers from a fireplace fell onto the hearth. Those embers sparked into flames, which were then drawn into the chimney, pumping thick, black smoke into the house.
The homeowner was letting the children stay there because they lost power in their own home during the weekend winter storm.
Channel 9 learned that six children, ages 7-14, from different families, were sleeping in the home when the fire started.
Some were sleeping on couches in the living room when a father smelled smoke and rushed to get everyone safely out of the house.
"My main concern was get the kids out and see what I can do until the fire department got here,” said Josh Hathcock. “Other than that, there's no emotion, it's all adrenaline."
Firefighters said the flames were spreading under the floor and through the chimney, pumping thick, black smoke into the air.
Officials told Channel 9 that although flames did not spread through the home, it was badly damaged by the heavy smoke.
"It smelled awful. It would've been like literally burning a plastic bottle in front of your nose," Hatcock said.
The neighborhood is home to many million-dollar houses -- Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis is a neighbor and even came out to check on what was happening -- and the homeowner told Channel 9 that the property was valued between $1.3 million to $1.5 million, and could be deemed a total loss.
The smoke damage was concentrated on the second and third floors, while the fire damage happened in the attic.
The fire marshal estimated the damage to be $300,000.
Firefighters ask that homeowners clean their chimneys, and told Channel 9 that it's possible a flammable buildup in the chimney fueled the flames.
"You can get buildup of creosote in the chimney itself, it can ignite and when it begins to burn, it can burn hot enough that it cracks the inner liner of the chimney," Union County Fire Marshal Kevin Rigolis said.
"Silver lining is everybody is fine, nobody got hurt," Hatcock said.
Hathcock told Channel 9 that they were able to pull some pictures out of the house, but they are still trying to figure out what survived the smoke.