Sylva Fire Chief Mike Beck discusses strategy with veteran firefighter Dale Nations during Friday morning's (March 14) Main Street fire. The firefighters' quick response saved a downtown apartment building owned by Jay Ball. Local units were assisted by Alarka Fire Chief Doug Cochran, who was on his way to work at Jackson Paper when he heard the 6:30 a.m. alarm. The cause of the fire remains under investigation. - Herald photo by Carey Phillips For the second time in as many months a downtown fire was contained before it turned catastrophic. Sylva firefighters answered a 6:30 a.m. call Friday (March 15) and found smoke pouring from a top-story window of Jay Ball's Main Street Apartments, which are located on the corner of Main and Landis streets. The fire started in Apt. 8, which was destroyed by flames, said Sylva Fire Chief Mike Beck. The apartment was rented, but no one was home when the blaze started. Beck said he could see flames when he got out of his car. He arrived on the scene at the same time as Doug Cochran, chief of Swain County's Alarka Fire Department, who was on his way to work at Jackson Paper when he heard the alarm. "Doug went in with a fire extinguisher and knocked it down," said Beck. "He was a great help. Without him it could have been bad." Deputy Dwight McMahan of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department, a member of Sylva's fire department, and Shannon Ashe of the Sylva Police Department were other early arrivals and assisted at the scene, Beck said. "The investigation is continuing, however, we have found no evidence of arson at this time," Sylva Police Chief Jeff Jamison said Monday. "It appears to have been an electrical fire. The source of the fire appears to have come from a stereo." The fire was reported by a resident of a nearby apartment, who reported hearing a "popping sound" and opened the door to find smoke in the hall. Beck estimates the building, the former Hotel Lloyd, sustained several thousand dollars worth of damage. Though firefighters didn't have to use much water, there was extensive water damage and the basement flooded, Beck said. Most of the water came from a water pipe in the apartment's ceiling that was burned into by the flames, Beck said. The broken pipe then served as a "sprinkler system," Beck said. Several interior doors were damaged during the firefighters' efforts to evacuate the building, Beck said. Ball, who owns the apartments and operates the Jewelry Outlet on the building's first floor, said his business was not damaged, but Drifters Beauty Salon, also on the first floor, sustained water damage. Residents of all apartments, except the one in which the fire started, were able to return to the building later in the day Friday, Ball said. The former hotel has been renovated, bringing it up to fire codes, and new doors installed on the apartments helped keep the fire from spreading, Ball said. Mutual aid was provided by the Cullowhee, Savannah and Cherokee fire departments, and the police and sheriff's departments assisted with traffic control, Beck said. WestCare EMS was also on the scene. Main Street was closed for more than two hours, and firefighters ventilated the apartment building, Beck said. Main Street's other recent fire scare came Jan. 22, when smoke beneath Sylva's historic Hooper House triggered concern. Firefighters determined that smoke was caused when hot solder was dropped onto sawdust by construction workers in the century-old building's crawl space. |