Skip to content
The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen
Menu
  • Home
  • News
  • Community
  • Schools
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Obituaries
  • Sports
  • Mill
  • Flora
  • Print Archive
  • About
Menu

Residents escape another Carrboro apartment fire

Posted on December 6, 2007 by Staff

By Emily Burns
Carrboro Commons Writer

More than two dozen residents escaped unharmed as fire swept through J Building at Ashbrook Apartments, 601 Jones Ferry Road in Carrboro, at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, November 28. The cause is under investigation.

Deputy Chief Trey Mayo of the Carrboro Fire-Rescue Department hopes that investigations underway by the fire department, the State Bureau of Investigation and the insurer will find the cause.
Mayo noted that investigators have determined where in the building the fire started, but not what caused it.

Three minor injuries were sustained by responders.

A fire department press release said firefighters rescued a number of pets.

Twenty-six residents, including 25 adults and one child, were displaced by Wednesday’s fire. All of the residents were housed overnight by local hotels.

Captain Kent Squires said the fire was first reported at about 6:30 p.m. Wednesday by a resident of Cedarwood Lane who saw flames through the woods that separate Cedarwood Lane from Ashbrook Apartments.

According to Squires, the fire took place in the J Building of the complex, which is made up of 15 units. Seven of the units were only damaged by water; eight were damaged by water, smoke and fire; and of those eight, four were destroyed.

Carrboro firefighters were assisted by several local fire and police departments, including the Chapel Hill, New Hope and Chatham County fire departments, and the Chapel Hill Police Department.

The Ashbrook apartment complex is not equipped with a sprinkler system, but Squires said that the complex was built in accordance with fire codes that existed at the time of its completion. Building J is expected to be uninhabitable for some time.

This latest and most serious conflagration was the 7th in four days in a series of fires at Carrboro apartment complexes, many of which were built before sprinklers were mandated.

Jack Carley contributed to this report.

Web Archive

© 2025 The Archive of The Carrboro Citizen | Powered by Minimalist Blog WordPress Theme