A Smithfield couple lost their home and three of their four pets in a house fire Wednesday morning. Flames destroyed the home of Steve and Helen Simmons on Everette Lane off Buffalo Road near Smithfield Middle School around 4:30am. Authorities said the fire started in the area of a wood stove being used to heat the home.
The couple sustained smoke inhalation and were taken to the hospital for treatment. They lost two dogs and one cat in the blaze. One dog was rescued from the burning home.
Smithfield fire crews arrived on the scene quickly but had to shuttle water more than a half mile away. There were no hydrants on Everette Lane even though the dirt street and the homes were involuntarily annexed into the town limits 24 years ago.
The fire victims cousin and neighbor, Dan Simmons a local businessman, told WTSB News on Wednesday the Town of Smithfield is to blame for the lack of fire hydrants.
“The house is located in the city limits of the Town of Smithfield,” Simmons said while standing in the front yard of the destroyed home. “It was forced annexed in 1994.”
Simmons said state statute in 1994 required any municipality in North Carolina that forcibly annexed a property to provide water and sewer lines as soon as possible after the annexation date and no more than 2 years after the date of the annexation.
“The Town of Smithfield has failed to fulfill its obligation under the general statutes. The fire departments at Micro, Pine Level, Brogden, Four Oaks and Wilson’s Mills provided trucks to transport water to the fire. It obviously took time to set up that procedure,” Simmons said while surveying the damage.
“I am not saying that the house would not have been lost if the Town of Smithfield had fulfilled its obligations 24 years ago to provide water service and fire hydrants but there would have been a better chance of saving the home and its contents,” Simmons told WTSB News.
Simmons said fire crews did all they could under the circumstances to save his cousins home but believes if a fire hydrant would have been nearby the flames could have been extinguished much sooner.
Simmons said he met with Town Manager Mike Scott several months ago asking when the Town would extend water and sewer lines along Everette Lane. Simmons said the town manager indicated the Town had no interest in doing so at the time, in part because of the high cost for such a few homes on the street, but said it would be discussed during the 2018-19 budget session with the Town Council.
The homes on Everette Lane have been within the Town limits since 1994 and have been paying the same Town of Smithfield property tax rate as other homeowners who have town utilities.
WTSB News reached out to town manager Scott for a comment. In a prepared statement released late-Wednesday the Town said, “Our hearts and prayers go out to the family for their loss. At this time, we do not believe the Town has any legal responsibility to provide water and/or hydrant supply at the Town’s expense. However, we will look into the situation further and be able to provide more information in the near future.”
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