Firefighters contained a blaze midday Thursday that started Wednesday afternoon.

More than 16 hours after two warehouses in north Laurinburg were engulfed in flames, firemen extinguished the fire at 17301 Wagram Road.

The first fire call came over the radio at about 5:30 p.m., which reported a possible brush fire near North Highway 401.

Before Laurinburg Engineer Chad Donaldson could get to the scene, a second 911 call told firefighters that it was actually a structure on fire.

As Donaldson pulled out of the driveway of North Laurinburg Fire Station, he saw a plume of black smoke, immediately calling for support.

"It was the largest fire I have ever responded to in my 10 year career," Donaldson said.

He said he knew it had to be something big as he was two miles out. He knew then that a commercial building was likely on fire.

Donaldson rushed over on the first fire engine to respond to the scene, immediately going to work to contain the fire at the Wallace Warehouses and keep it from spreading to the nearby woods.

Laurinburg Fire Chief Harold Smith arrived a little later, taking control of the situation.

He recalled working through the night to try and put the fire out. It wasn't until about noon on Thursday that the fire was extinguished, after close to 75 firefighters spent 10 hours battling the blaze.

The city's ladder truck was among the many implements firefighters used to put out the flames.

"The ladder truck made it a lot easier to control the fire," Smith said. "There was a lot less risk to the firefighters. There were also parts of building we couldn't have reached otherwise."

The fire was initially contained in the wee hours of the morning, but firefighters could not get deep enough into the building and had to wait for heavier equipment.

"We left at about 3:30 this morning and went back for a rekindle at about 7:30," Smith said.

In the end, a back hoe from the city of Laurinburg was used to get firemen deeper into the warehouses.

The fire chief said that, while the facility appeared to be a single building from the street, it was actually two warehouses adjoined by a 30 ft. corridor.

One warehouse was completely destroyed while the other took significant damage, Smith said.

He said the warehouse contained various industrial products like paper and plastic.

Smith said safety is the top concern for local fire departments, and the agencies use a risk-benefit ratio to analyze any blaze.

"We ask if the benefits you're going to get worth sending men in," Smith said.

Smith said the cause was as of yet unknown, but the State Bureau of Investigation, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and Scotland County Sheriff's Department are investigating. All losses of this magnitude are investigated.

The fire took a toll on Donaldson on the nearly 75 firefighters who arrived at the scene.

"It is definitely both a physical and mental challenge," Donaldson said.

The Laurinburg engineer said it was especially draining as many were still tired from fighting the Wagram fire on Tuesday night and his shift was about to retire for the night when the call came in.

The fire departments that responded included Laurinburg, Stewartsville, Laurel Hill, Wagram, Gibson, Queheel and McColl. Also on the scene were the Scotland County Rescue Squad, Scotland Emergency Services, Laurinburg police, Scotland County Sheriff's Office and the American Red Cross.