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Fire investigation starts Monday

Jennifer Frew | The News Herald

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Slideshow: Drexel Heritage plant fire

By Julie N. Chang | The News Herald

Published: August 28, 2009

Updated: 08/29/2009 08:44 pm

MORGANTON - The flames have been extinguished, but the fire is still smoldering inside the old Drexel Heritage furniture plant following a large blaze that began early Friday morning.
Witnesses and a Morganton Public Safety Officer reported the fire at Plants 3 and 5 on East Fleming Drive and Hogan Street, shortly after 3 a.m.
The building was constructed in the early 1900s, and Public Safety Capt. Tony Lowdermilk said current building conditions, which included dilapidated walls and floors, and three levels made it too dangerous for firefighters to enter the structure.
On Saturday, Public Safety Maj. Billy Bradshaw said the fire was contained and the department had relatively cleared the scene as of noon. A small number of personnel continue monitoring the building's safety. Officials do not want anyone entering the property.
Bradshaw said the cause of the fire has not been determined. Public Safety detectives will work with the office of the Burke County Fire Marshal in a criminal investigation, beginning Monday, to determine the point of the fire's origin.
All surrounding roads have been opened and cleared of equipment. Bradshaw said there is no danger to area residents and businesses, and officials do not expect any.
Gaines Motor Lines of Hickory purchased the property in December 2007, but the building has been commercially vacant for years.
Bradshaw said a portion of the building was used for storage, but the fire did not reach that area.
Burke County Emergency Medical Services, Burke County REACT and Valdese, Longview, Gamewell, Oak Hill, Glen Alpine and Salem fire departments also responded to the scene. The North Carolina State Highway Patrol and Burke County Sheriff's Office assisted with communications.
The fire was the largest local emergency agencies have dealt with since the Synthron plant explosion in 2006, said Bradshaw. An estimated 50 to 60 responders cooperated during the peak of the fire before dawn on Friday.
Bradshaw said there were no reports of injury in battling the blaze. "The response was very smooth and we didn't have any mishaps."
Bobby Dobson, 73, of Morganton, a The News Herald carrier, was among witnesses who reported the fire.
Dobson said he was traveling along Randolph Street on his usual paper delivery route when he saw smoke.
Thinking that was unusual, Dobson turned around, headed down Hogan Street and saw flames shooting 10 to 15 feet above the former furniture plant. He immediately called Public Safety.
"I just knew something in history was going up in flames and a lot of people had worked there," Dobson said of his initial thoughts upon seeing the fire.
Drexel Heritage Furniture Industries has its roots in Burke County and has employed thousands of workers in Morganton, Drexel and Hildebran.
According to the revised 1982 edition of Edward Phifer's "Burke: The History of a North Carolina County," J.S. Abernathy, William Carson Ervin, Sterling R. Collett, Isaac Lazarus, John Theodore Perkins and Nathan Lazarus joined together in 1903 to form a furniture factory in Morganton.
The men formed Drexel Furniture Company in Drexel by the Southern Railway tracks, Phifer wrote.
According to Phifer, in 1976, Drexel Heritage employed 2,500 to 3,000 people in the county.
By the early 2000s, Drexel Heritage had shut down or consolidated plants in Morganton and Hildebran, and in 2004 shut down Plant 60 in Morganton.