CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Several fire departments responded to a house fire Monday night in southwest Charlotte.
It happened around 9:30 p.m. in the 7200 block of Buckland Road. Pineville Volunteer Fire Department tweeted its crews were helping firefighters from Steele Creek Volunteer Fire Department. West Mecklenburg Volunteer Fire assisted as well.
There were no hydrants in that area, so a Charlotte Fire Department boat crew responded to help with the water supply.
Chris Hardin, Steele Creek Volunteer Fire Department chief, said crews knew there weren’t hydrants nearby from being familiar with the area and also using the Active 911 app, which shows exactly where fire hydrants are located.
Hardin said a hydrant typically needs to be between 1,000 to 1,200 feet to serve as a water supply in a fire. The closes one to the home on Buckland Road is about three quarters of a mile away.
“It just helps what we do make it a lot easier for us as far as time trying to worry about establishing a water supply,” Hardin said.
Cindy Beauchamp lives next door to the house that burned. She and her husband moved in about four years ago, not thinking about the proximity to a fire hydrant.
“It would be nice to have a fire hydrant,” Beauchamp added.
The street where the fire happened is not part of the city, according to Beauchamp, which may be one reason for a lack of hydrants, she added.
Hardin estimated 60 to 70 percent of homes in the Steele Creek area are covered by a fire hydrant, but even if one is close by, he said to double check to make sure it’s in service. Call the city of Charlotte at 311 to report any issues.
The house was believed to be a total loss. Mecklenburg County Fire Marshal's Office will investigate the cause of the fire. No injuries were reported.