Lightning sparks weekend fire in historic Wilson building

July 18--Brooke Best rushed home on a redeye flight to see what remained of her downtown Wilson business Sunday after lightning sparked a fire in the 109-year-old brick storefront.

Firefighters walked the owner of Touch of Country Boutique and Gifts to the shop's front windows and let her peer through the fogged glass. As the fire smoldered out and water drained from the sagging ceiling, no one was allowed inside.

"Heartbreaking," Best said Sunday afternoon. "It's all lost -- more water damage and soot rather than fire. There are pieces of the ceiling that have fallen through. As far as just looking through the windows, it's a complete loss."

Best and her husband, Mike, were in Atlanta to select new merchandise for the boutique at the AmericasMart wholesale trade show. The couple cut their trip short after a pre-dawn phone call notified them of the fire.

A lightning bolt struck an adjoining storefront in the building that houses Touch of Country around 11:09 p.m. Saturday, Deputy Chief Michael Sumner of Wilson Fire/Rescue Services said. A neighbor noticed flames leaping from the roof roughly an hour later and called 911 at 12:15 a.m.

"It had an hour to sit there and burn before anybody noticed it," Sumner said. "That's why it got such a jump on everybody."

Twenty-seven firefighters from five engines, a ladder truck and two command vehicles converged on the building and sprayed out the flames. Sumner said the fire was "pancaked" between the roof and the second-floor ceiling and had to be attacked through the front windows before a portion of the roof collapsed.

"We've pretty much had to do all of our work from either this bucket or a ladder," he said Sunday afternoon. "Right now we're just keeping an eye on it, making sure we do have it out."

The lightning strike occurred at 224 Tarboro St. SW, a storefront Womble Hardware & Tackle used for storage. Flames spread to Touch of Country at 222 Tarboro St. SW from the roof and second story.

No one was inside the building when the fire started and no occupants or firefighters were injured.

North Carolina sees an average of 469,062 cloud-to-ground lightning flashes per year, or 9.5 per square mile, according to the National Lightning Detection Network. The state ranks 20th in the nation for flash density, with Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi taking the top three spots.

Penny Womble and Allyson Moye of Womble Real Estate, which owns the building, stood on the sidewalk Sunday and watched as firefighters continued their work.

"Hats off to the fire department -- they did a wonderful, wonderful job, and they were very courteous to me," Womble said. "I was a wreck when I got here, but they were very courteous to me and very diligent and professional. I can't thank them enough."

Womble said the building opened in 1907 as the Cicero Culpepper Carriage Shop and later housed George Barfoot's insurance and real estate agency and the Moss Bicycle Shop before a handful of retailers rented the space. Womble Real Estate bought it in 1975, and Wilson County tax records show an appraised value of $378,195.

Sumner said firefighters would be on scene through Monday afternoon to monitor the building for hotspots and to allow water to drain from the second-story ceiling before a salvage and overhaul team could safely go inside. A building inspector would have to examine the charred structure before owners and tenants are allowed in.

Best said some of the merchandise she and her husband bought in Atlanta to sell at Touch of Country will begin arriving in Wilson later this week. Friends in the downtown business community have reached out to offer their help.

"We've had the community come together and offer us places to store our things," she said. "Hopefully we can have a temporary store until we figure out what's going to happen to the building itself."

Sumner said a damage estimate wasn't available Sunday. Both the building and boutique were insured, and fire reports and inspections will determine whether the historic structure can be salvaged.

Best said if she can't reopen Touch of Country in its current location, she'll look for an alternate site downtown.

"We love being downtown, so that's where we plan to stay," she said. "It's too early to say what will happen right now, but I have all intentions of reopening."

cfriedman@wilsontimes.com -- 265-7813

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