Firefighters pulled one person from a burning multiunit apartment building in Franklin, North Carolina, on Friday, and that person was rushed to a local hospital with burns. The fire tore into a large shared attic space above the units, but crews managed to stop it there before it could consume the rest of the structure.
Crews responded to the fire just after 1 p.m. Friday at the apartment building, according to fire officials cited by WYFF. The blaze prompted additional fire stations to respond as crews worked to get ahead of the flames spreading through the building's common attic.
Authorities said the person rescued from inside sustained burns and was transported to the hospital for treatment, as reported by WYFF. No further details about the victim's condition or identity were available.
Attic Fire Stopped Before It Could Spread Further
Once the fire pushed into the shared attic, firefighters focused on containing it there rather than letting it race across the roofline into other units. Crews said they were able to limit the fire's spread and ultimately stop it within the attic, sparing the rest of the building from more extensive damage, as noted by WYFF.
That effort meant a significant amount of the property was saved, according to the same report. Details on how many residents were displaced or how many units sustained damage were not immediately available.
Multiple Agencies Now Investigating
The cause of the fire has not been released. The incident remains under investigation by the Franklin Police Department, the North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation, and the Macon fire marshal's office, per the report.
Community members elsewhere in North Carolina have stepped in during similar emergencies. A Durham Housing Authority maintenance worker was credited with saving an elderly, disabled woman from an apartment fire, according to a WRAL Good News item, though that case is unrelated to the Franklin fire. No additional information on the cause, extent of damage, or the rescued resident's condition has been released as the investigation continues.
