Fire destroys apartment building

A fire ripped through a Carrboro apartment Wednesday, destroying one building and injuring three emergency personnel.

Carrboro Fire-Rescue was dispatched to a structural fire at Ashbrook Apartments on Jones Ferry Road about 6:30 p.m.

The fire originated in the J building and was contained within about an hour. All residents have been accounted for and none were injured in the fire, Carrboro Fire-Rescue Capt. Kent Squires said.

Three emergency responders suffered minor injuries. The names of the responders were not available Wednesday night.

The three-story building contained 15 units. Firefighters found heavy fire when they arrived, with flames reaching above the trees.

"They had fire throughout the roof area," Squires said. "They started pulling lines, making initial attacks. They made very good headway on the fire."

The building's structure is stable enough to allow firefighters in the building, but it is not livable. An investigation into the cause of the fire will begin today.

"Damage ranges from minor damage on some apartments to major damage on others," Squires said. "The top apartments are probably significantly damaged."

The Red Cross responded to assist displaced residents. The number of residents who lived in the building was not released last night.

Karen Lorne lived in apartment J-9 with her black Labrador dog. Lorne was at work when the fire started, but friends called her and she came back to look for Bailey, who is a certified therapeutic dog.

"She's a pretty special dog," Lorne said. "We're just glad that she's safe, and everything else doesn't really matter."

Squires said all other pets had been accounted for as well.

Toya Ebron, a UNC senior majoring in psychology, was in her apartment, J-7, about to take a nap when she noticed flames outside her window. She said the noise she heard sounded like fire crackers.

"I saw the top of the building on fire," she said. "It looked like it started right above us . I just ran."

Ebron left her apartment without her jacket, and called her roommate, UNC senior Rekita Moody, who was at work.

"I felt so bad, and we just got started crying," Moody said of her arrival at the fire.

The two said they lost everything in the fire, including laptops, textbooks and clothes.

Ashbrook Apartments, formerly Sterling Brook Apartments, are located at 601 Jones Ferry Road.

The initial call came from 302 Cedar Wood Lane, Squires said.

"The caller said that they could see fire through the woods," he said.

At least seven fire units responded to the fire, from the Carrboro, Chapel Hill and New Hope fire departments, as well as Orange EMS and the South Orange Rescue Squad.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.