ROWLAND, NC (WBTW) – Remnants of a Thursday morning fire continue to slowly blaze at the Larry Sampson Tobacco Farm.
“I sat out here and watched it. They burned pretty fast. That one right there, it was engulfed in flames,” said Billy Smith, Rowland resident.
According to Rowland Fire Chief Joe McGrit, someone driving by saw the fire and called 911 around 5:30 Thursday morning.
McGrit says a crew of fourteen firefighters and calm winds aided in a fire that could have been much worse. He says firefighters spent more than two hours to keep the fire from spreading to the remaining 30 barns.
Billy Smith lives across the street from the farm and Thursday isn’t the first time he’s seen the barn go up in flames.
“I’ve seen another one in the past. It only burned one or two on this end. It didn’t go all the way down,” mentioned Smith.
Ten tobacco barns along with two heavy duty commercial trucks were damaged by the fire.
News 13 reached out to the owner Larry Sampson who says the fire damaged more than one $100,000 worth of equipment and tobacco. He says with season ending in just a few days, his only hope is to repair and rebuild.
Sampson says the barns are kept at a high heat, up to 180 degrees. He says if the fire department had not gotten there so quickly, more crops could have been in danger.
The cause of the fire is unknown at this time but Fire Chief Joe McGrit says early morning winds and a malfunction in one of the heaters in the barns could possibly be a factor, but says it’s unusual to have that many burn at one time.
The cause of the fire at Larry Sampson Tobacco Farm is still under investigation. Count on News 13 to keep you covered.
