Apartment fire sends one to hospital

By Kevin Spradlin
PeeDeePost.com

ROCKINGHAM — One man was transported to FirstHealth Richmond Memorial Hospital late Wednesday night after his apartment unit at Village Terrace Apartments in Rockingham.

Kevin Spradlin | PeeDeePost.com

Firefighters from the Rockingham Fire Department responded to the emergency call for help that came it at approximately 11 p.m. Engine 1, along with units 461, 464, 465, 472 and 473 responded to the scene. Assistant Chief David Mullis said the back portion of the single-story stand alone apartment unit — one of about a dozen such structures in the subdivision — had flames shooting out the roof.

The subdivision is located approximately 0.6 miles south of Midway Road. The property is adjacent to the city of Rockingham’s wastewater treatment plant and composting facility on Byrd Drive.

FirstHealth EMS, which transported the victim to the hospital, responded to the fire as did the Rockingham Police Department and Duke Energy. There was no update available on the victim’s condition, but Mullis noted that “he was talkin’ to ’em when they took him out.”

Mullis estimated the man to be around 60 years of age.

Care was taken to work around the late-model Dodge Charger with Florida tags that sat in the driveway of the apartment unit. The vehicle was untouched by anything but the light rain that fell intermittently during the night.

Mullis said it was too early to determine the cause of the fire or its point of origin. Firefighters began clearing the scene shortly before 1 a.m. Thursday.