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Sunday fire damages two apartments in Cullowhee
By Justin Goble
A fire Sunday afternoon (Sept. 3) damaged two units at the Alpine Apartment complex on SR 1002 in Cullowhee.
Members of the Cullowhee Fire Department responded to the call around 3:15 p.m., according to Cullowhee Fire Chief Richard Frady, who said the blaze started because the kitchen stove was left on. Sylva and Savnnah fire departments provided mutual aid.
“The tenants were not home, so no one was injured,” Frady said. “Due to the quick action of the girl who lived in the apartment above, we were able to get there really fast. She called us as soon as she saw smoke.”
A Cullowhee firefighter arrived within a few minutes and attacked the blaze with a fire extinguisher. Frady credited that action with preventing the fire from spreading to other apartments until other firefighters arrived to finish the job.
“It took us about five minutes to extinguish the fire,” Frady said. “The biggest thing we had to do was to break down a wall to get to where the hot spots, where the fire had gotten into the struts of the building. That took us the longest.”
The apartment where the fire started suffered moderate structural damage, while the one next to it sustained minor smoke and structural damage.
“It was a wonderful effort by all of the volunteers,” Frady said. “We had equipment, manpower and water on the scene really quick.”
The Red Cross is providing living arrangements for the tenants displaced by the fire, Frady said.
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