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LINDEN, N.C. (WNCN) — A woman and man were in critical condition after they were pulled from a Cumberland County house fire late Saturday morning that spawned a “mass casualty incident” designation because so many firefighters were impacted during a heat advisory, fire officials said.
The call for the house fire was around 11:30 a.m. in the 8400 block of Colliers Chapel Church Road, about two miles south of Linden near the Cape Fear River, according to the Westarea Volunteer Fire Department, the primary agency.
When crews arrived, smoke was coming from a double-wide mobile home and flames were spotted climbing an exterior wall, Westarea Volunteer Fire Department Chief Scott Bass told CBS 17.
Firefighters from the first two engines at the scene quickly checked the home and found a man in the front bedroom and a woman in the center of the home, Bass said.
Firefighters quickly removed the pair from the home, and they were soon put aboard separate medical helicopters, he said.
Westarea Volunteer Fire Department
Both were critical but stable and were flown to the UNC Burn Center in Chapel Hill for treatment, according to Bass.
Meanwhile, fire crews struggled against the intense high temperatures on a heat advisory day — with heat index temps forecast to hit 109 degrees.
The home was surrounded by thick trees and limbs, which made it hard to access, Bass said. The home also had several additions over the years and a double roof, which also complicated the firefighting.