A house fire Wednesday afternoon brought personnel from six local fire departments to a Clinton residence, a blaze that was able to be contained and is being further investigated by the Sampson County Fire Marshal’s Office.
At 4:01 p.m. Wednesday, the Clinton Fire Department was dispatched to a reported house fire at 102 Michael St., located off West Main Street, not far from the Westover Road. According to city officials, the first units arrived on scene at 4:05 p.m. and observed smoke coming from the home.
“Firefighters immediately started their attack on the fire and were able to keep the fire contained to a single room of the home,” City of Clinton manager Tom Hart said.
Clinton Fire Chief Stephen Lovette thanked mutual aid units and said their assistance was vital on a hot day.
Temperatures in Sampson County have neared 100 degrees this week, prompting officials with the National Weather Service to issue heat advisories and warnings throughout the remainder of the week. Sampson is among more than a dozen counties in North Carolina that were placed under a heat advisory earlier this week, along with Warren, Halifax, Franklin, Nash, Edgecombe, Wake, Johnston, Wilson, Harnett, Wayne, Scotland, Hoke and Cumberland.
“High temperatures on Wednesday made manpower crucial to the safety of our firefighters and we appreciate the assistance from the fire departments in Taylors Bridge, Turkey, Salemburg, Roseboro and Halls,” said Lovette.
Willie Felton, owner of the Michael Street residence, was home alone at the time of the fire. Felton made it out of the home and there were no injuries to any citizens or firefighters. Little more than an hour after the fire call came out, firefighters had the blaze contained and were rolling up hoses in preparation to clear the scene.
“The fire appears to have originated in the kitchen, however the exact cause will be determined by the County Fire Marshal’s Office,” Hart stated.
