Fire destroys home
By John Joyce
Published in News on November 18, 2015 1:46 PM
Full Size
News-Argus/CASEY MOZINGO
Goldsboro firefighters regroup after battling a house fire Tuesday afternoon on Winslow Circle. The blaze started by a kitchen fire consumed the home and caused nearly $70,000 in damages. One person was taken to Wayne Memorial Hospital to be treated for smoke inhalation.
A kitchen fire quickly got out of control in a home at 218 Winslow Circle on Tuesday, severely damaging the structure and sending one resident to the hospital with smoke inhalation.
The fire started at about noon. According to the Goldsboro Fire Department, it began in the kitchen after the homeowner, Priscilla Black, started cooking bacon and then went into a back bedroom.
"When she came out, she saw smoke in the hallway, and she said the kitchen was on fire," Assistant Fire Chief Eric Lancaster said.
Ms. Black tried to put the fire out herself, but was unsuccessful. Her brother, Donnie Richardson, then opened a back door to let some of the smoke out, Lancaster said. Both got out of the house and called 911.
"They were there waiting for us in the front yard," Lancaster said.
The combination of the back door and carport door being left open gave the fire everything it needed to spread.
"It had all the fuel it could want and that is what made it such an intense fire," Lancaster said.
He said he arrived first on scene and saw heavy fire from the carport and from the rear of the house.
Goldsboro Engine 4 arrived next and knocked down the exterior fire. By then, however, the fire had spread into the attic.
"We made an aggressive attack, and we had to knock a hole in the roof," Lancaster said. By 12:35, the firefighters had the interior fire put out as well and were ready to begin investigating the cause.
Richardson was taken by Wayne County EMS to Wayne Memorial Hospital for smoke inhalation. He was treated and released.
The fire department spent a total of three hours on scene, making sure no fire rekindled and investigating the origin. The home, estimated at a value of $97,520, including contents, suffered an estimated $69,000 in damage.
"The sister said they had somewhere to stay, so there was no one for the Red Cross to come out to. But I did speak with them later at the hospital and put them in contact with the Red Cross," Lancaster said.