State Fire Marshal Fred Sumpter has officially ruled the cause of a structure fire that took place in Hamlet last week as undetermined.
Hamlet Fire Chief Brad Hazelton reported that on Friday, October 20th the Hamlet Fire Department received a call about a fire at a vacant structure located on West Railroad Street around 2 a.m. The fire was extinguished but the house was significantly damaged.
Chief Hazelton said that the State Fire Marshall conducted an investigation. Hazelton determined that it was too dangerous for the firefighters involved to enter the crawlspace under the house so the cause was established as undetermined.
Hazelton also reported that thanks to the use of their alarm system, Knox and Koontz Lake Firefighters we called out to assist with the incident. He said the departments often assist one another when they’re in need of more firefighters and to utilize equipment that one department may have access to that another does not.
Chief Hazelton said the Mutual-Aid Box Alarm System (MABAS) alerts surrounding departments of incidents in real time, saving him or others the need to contact them directly. Hazelton said that the MABAS Committee has agreed that it is better to have people on their way and not need them, than to not have people ready to assist when there is a need. The same system is also utilized for accidents that take place on Highway 30.
