BANNER ELK, N.C. — Firefighters say they had to bring in water to fight a massive apartment fire overnight near Banner Elk. That’s because they used all the water from the tank on scene.
Investigators told Channel 9’s Dave Faherty at first people could not figure out where the fire was coming from. Investigators say the owners smelled smoke but didn’t initially see the fire because it was in the attic.
Resident Linda Pillion could see the fire from the back deck of her home at the Vistas near Banner Elk. Her husband shared video after the fire broke through the roof but earlier there wasn’t much fire at all coming from the homes.
“They were searching all over,” Pillion said. “You could tell something was not right. But they couldn’t I think tell exactly where.”
Fire investigators say eight of the units were destroyed by the fire. Only four were occupied and firefighters made sure everyone got out safely. There is a sprinkler system but Channel 9 has learned it does not include the attic of the homes.
“The livable areas is equipped with sprinklers protecting in order to evacuate the building safely,” Avery County Fire Marshal Paul Buchanan said, “There is no sprinklers in the attic.”
Investigators say the condos weren’t required to have sprinklers there.
As many as 70 firefighters battled the flames for several hours. There was so much fire here that they drained a nearby 80-thousand water tank forcing them to ferry water to the scene. The fire marshal says they were trying to save other buildings. Neighbors appreciate those efforts.
“They did an awesome job,” neighbor Bill Blackwell said, “These guys are well trained. They show up. They do the job and there wasn’t a lot of hey go do this hey go do this. They just did it.”
“Pray for the families that have lost their condos and for the men and women who helped fight this,” Pillion said.
The fire marshal says so far he doesn’t see anything suspicious about this fire. He says he even checked the weather at the time and says there wasn’t any lightning in this immediate area.