Lexington Fire Department responds to two fires within hours

LEXINGTON, NC – On Wednesday, January 26, Lexington Fire Department responded to two fires within hours of each other. The first call came at approximately 12:30 pm to the Holiday Inn Express on Vineyards Crossing. The second, to a residential home on Old Linwood Road, was dispatched at around 3:00 pm.

The call to the Holiday Inn Express, initially dispatched as a fire alarm, was then upgraded to a structure fire. Crews arrived to find smoke in the structure. Upon investigation, crews located a small fire in the mechanical room near the dryers.

Crews investigated and found the fire was in the wall, and smoke traveled up the wall and affected four other hotel rooms. Firefighters successfully contained the fire, and no injuries were reported from fire department staff or hotel guests.

The hotel will be closed for repairs for an undetermined amount of time. The second fire was a residential structure fire. Callers initially reported there still may be occupants inside. Linwood Fire Department assisted with the response.

Crews arrived to find heavy fire showing from the front of the residence. Responding units worked quickly to attack the fire and search for any occupants. All occupants, three adults and four children, were confirmed to be out.

The fire caused significant damage to the residence. Fire crews minimized the spread of the fire to a nearby home, but it did sustain some heat damage to the vinyl siding.

Red Cross was notified by the incident commander to provide aid to the displaced occupants. A pet dog was believed to be inside and is presumed to have succumbed to the heat and smoke. No other injuries were reported.