Local News - July 2003

Kitchen fire damages man’s home

Occupant crawls from back door

By JEREMY ASHTON, LTN Staff Writer

Firefighters put out a fire at a house on Dale Avenue on Monday afternoon that sent a massive cloud of smoke in the air and forced the only resident to crawl out the back door to safety.

Ronnie Fox of 2058 Dale Ave. was found on the back porch of his house by two men from the Charter Communications office located a few buildings away.

Fox was taken to Lincoln Medical Center, where he was treated for smoke inhalation and released.

The fire caused damage to the kitchen, dining room and hallway before crews from the Lincolnton and Boger City fire departments could contain it, according to LFD Capt. Rick Blackwell.

The rest of the house was enveloped by a thick cloud of smoke visible from about a mile away on Main Street.

Fire officials and the Lincolnton Police Department are still investigating the cause of the fire.

Chris Winslow, who works at the nearby Charter Communications office, was returning from getting gas for his truck when he saw smoke coming from the house.

Winslow told a dispatcher to call the fire department and rushed over to the house with coworker Terry Johnson.

Johnson yelled inside to determine if anyone was stuck in the fire and heard a response from Fox.

Winslow and Johnson went to the back of the house and saw Fox lying outside, conscious but not feeling well. By the time the two got there, the fire was “blazing in the kitchen,” Johnson said.

Fox was taken a safe distance away from the house until fire crews and Lincoln County EMS could arrive.

The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and Fire Marshal’s Office are also investigating a suspicious fire at a house on N.C. 150. For more on this story, see OFFICERS, page 2A.

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Staff Writer Jeremy Ashton can be reached at 704-735-3031 or jashton@ltnews.com.

© 2001 Lincoln Times-News  

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