By Kari Pugh
The Virginian-Pilot
COLINGTON, N.C. — Seven people were displaced when fire ripped through a row of townhouses in Kill Devil Hills Thursday evening.
Crews from the Colington, Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head fire departments were dispatched just before 4 p.m. to the 100 block of Colington Pointe Drive, as callers reported seeing smoke as far away as Kitty Hawk, the Colington Volunteer Fire Department said in a news release.
Colington Fire Chief Glenn Rainey arrived to find heavy fire in the end unit of a three-story, four-unit townhome block. A second alarm was called, bringing firefighters from the Southern Shores, Kitty Hawk and Roanoke Island fire departments.
“Firefighters were able to make a quick initial attack as the fire spread to neighboring units in the structure,” the release said.
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Two homes sustained major damage, one moderate damage and a fourth very minor damage. Three of the units were occupied at the time and six people safely evacuated.
A total of seven people were displaced, five of them year-round residents, the release said. Neighbors and the American Red Cross are assisting them.
The cause of the fire is under investigation.
The blaze is the second major fire in Kill Devil Hills this month. The North Carolina State Bureau of Investigation and local investigators are still working to determine what caused an Aug. 11 fire that killed three Maryland vacationers – including a 13-year-old girl – and injured three others.
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