North Wilkesboro, NC - Two Wilkes Sheriff's Department deputies have been credited with saving the life of a Roaring River woman during a house fire early Friday morning.
"I know they saved my life," said Nancy Cothren, who was awakened by Deputies Gene Wyatt and C.J. Billings as flames advanced toward her bedroom. "The fire marshal (Kevin Bounds) told me that probably in five or 10 more minutes, the house would have been a complete loss."
Mrs. Cothren said she watched TV until she went to bed about 2 a.m. Friday and was awakened about an hour later by the two deputies hitting the side of her house while on the porch.
They helped her get away from the burning house, which is across from Porter’s Hardware on N.C. 268 East, when she unlocked and opened a door.
“I’m awfully grateful for everything that was done for me,” said Mrs. Cothren, a lifelong resident of Roaring River. “I’ve had lots of good help, including from the sheriff’s department, the fire marshal, the (Roaring River) Fire Department and the (Roaring River) Ruritan Club, she said.
Wyatt was on patrol when he saw the 1½-story wooden-frame house was on fire, said Bounds. He reported the fire to the Wilkes Communications Center and was soon joined by Billings. Wyatt used the fire extinguisher in his patrol car on the blaze.
Believing someone was inside the house due to vehicles parked outside, the two deputies knocked on the outside walls because the doors were locked.
“Had the deputy been there about five minutes later, he probably wouldn’t have been able to save her and there would have been a fatality. The inside of the house was already hazy with smoke,” said Bounds, explaining that Mrs. Cothren likely would have been overcome by smoke.
Bounds said Roaring River and Ronda firefighters did a good job containing the blaze to the rear of the house. He said the fire caused $30,000 to $40,000 in damage to the house, but little damage to contents.
The fire began on the outside of the northwest corner of the house and burned into a playroom Mrs. Cothren prepared for her grandchildren, he said. “The fire was only 1½ rooms away from her when she was awakened,” he added.
“We are investigating the fire as arson,” said Bounds, adding that evidence collected at the scene was sent to a State Bureau of Investigation lab for analysis.
Capt. Steve Cabe, chief of detectives for the sheriff’s department, said, “The fire is very suspicious and there are several leads being pursued for a possible motive.”
A member of the sheriff’s department’s “bomb squad” was called to check a vehicle parked outside the house because its interior light was on when firefighters arrived. No explosives were found.
Mrs. Cothren said her two daughters and their families also lived in the home, but that they weren’t there when the fire started. She said they no longer could live in the home.
The home is owned by G.C. Porter, who rented it to Mrs. Cothren. It’s on the north side of N.C. 268 East, directly opposite Porter’s Hardware on the south side of the highway. Porter owns Porter’s Hardware. |
