LAURINBURG — The Laurinburg Police Department is investigating a suspicious fire that damaged a home on Blues Farm Road early Thursday morning.
According to the city of Laurinburg Fire Department, the dispatch call came in around 1:45 a.m. about the home being on fire. When firefighters got there the fire has spread across the entire structure, except for the garage.
The home was vacant at the time of the fire and the owner lives in Mooresville.
Laurinburg Fire Department Engineer Donald Locklear was on the scene of the fire and said there were 19 firemen on the scene as well as four firetrucks.
Altogether it took a little more than three hours for the fire to be extinguished. Locklear said that the fire was under control by 2:24 a.m. but the scene wasn’t cleared until 3:54 a.m.
The exact start time of the fire is still unknown. According to Locklear, fire can be tricky and it’s hard to tell how long the structure was burning before the call had come out and the fire department dispatched.
Locklear said that they estimated around $80,000 of damage from the fire and the case was then turned over to the Laurinburg Police Department since the fire seemed suspicious since it was vacant at the time and didn’t appear to be an accident.
According to the police report, the fire is list as arson and says that there were several starting points that were intentionally set within the residence. The investigation is still ongoing.
Reach Katelin Gandee at 910-506-3171 or at [email protected]
