Minor blaze doused safely

A fire that could have resulted in major damage was contained to a kitchen because of the preventative measures of a local apartment complex and quick action.

An apartment fire broke out just before 5:53 p.m. Thursday on the first floor of the 900 building at The Pointe at Chapel Hill apartment homes, according to Orange County Emergency Services.

Fire crews arrived at the scene three minutes later.

The fire follows a blaze last week that displaced about 34 residents at SunStone Apartments, which did not have sprinklers.

At The Pointe, a pot of oil was left on the stove unattended and broke into a fire, Battalion Chief Barry McLamb said.

“One of the residents took the two small children and left,” said Assistant Fire Marshal Mary Blevins.

“The fire was contained to the kitchen, primarily to the stove.”

By the time the fire crews arrived, the other resident had used a fire extinguisher to put out the blaze, and apartment sprinklers had gone off. There were no injuries, Blevins said.

An extinguisher is provided in each unit, she said.

Blevins said the sprinkler head that was activated in the apartment resulted in minimal water damage only in the affected apartment.

She said she did not know whether the residents had renters’ insurance.

Because the sprinkler system is connected to the domestic water system, residents temporarily lost water.

Benny Baker, who also lives in the 900 building, said his wife called him about the fire while he was driving home from work.

He said that other than the water cutoff, his apartment was not affected by the fire.

Blevins said situations like Thursday’s fire are a reminder of the importance of sprinklers and other safety measures.

Deputy Chief Fire Marshal Matt Lawrence said only 34 of 124 apartment complexes, condos and town homes in Chapel Hill have sprinklers.



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