Apartment Building, Residential Hickory, NC – Sprinkler system keeps dryer fire in apartment building contained until fire crews arrive August 12, 2018 viking210 The Hickory Fire Department responded to a fire at the Estates at Legends apartment complex on Wednesday. Battalion Chief J.L. Barger said a dryer was a source of the fire. Sprinkler systems kept the fire contained until firefighters could ensure it was out. The building has no fire damage but the sprinkler system has flooded several apartments, Barger said. No one was hurt, but several people will be displaced. Barger said that the fire department is asking owners of the complex to find temporary housing for those displaced. If units aren’t available they will seek assistance from the Red Cross, Barger said. The complex sits behind AMC Hickory 15 movie theater. Catawba County Emergency Medical Services were also present as a precaution. Mildred Barbitta lives on the ground floor a couple floors below where the fire occurred. “Just everything’s wet, really,” Barbitta said after taking a look in her apartment. “There is some water damage, I guess, on the ceiling. Things happen.” Barbitta estimated the fire happened between 11:30 a.m. and noon. Devon Payne was in her apartment on the floor just above where the fire occurred. “I was microwaving something and I thought, ‘Oh no,’ and then I realized it was the fire alarm,” Payne said. Payne left her apartment with her two children and dog.
