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WAXHAW Investigators from the Union County fire marshal’s office spent much of Thursday sifting through the ruins of a house that was destroyed in an overnight fire in Waxhaw.
No injuries were reported. Neighbors said the family that lived in the house was on vacation in Florida. The fire was reported about 3:30 a.m. Thursday at the two-story frame house in the 8000 block of Battersea Court. That is off Kensington Drive, in the Quellin subdivision, several miles northwest of Waxhaw’s downtown district.
Union County Fire Marshal Jon Williams said a Waxhaw police officer who was on patrol spotted the flames.
Firefighters from Waxhaw found the house fully involved in flames when they arrived. Allen said flames were coming through the roof. Waxhaw firefighters called for assistance from the Wesley Chapel Fire Department, and a crew of 30 firefighters needed more than an hour to bring the blaze under control.
Officials said flames were so intense that when crews arrived they were forced to battle the blaze from a defensive position, from the outside. By mid-morning Thursday, only a small group of firefighters remained, dealing with hot spots. Smoke continued to drift from the house.
The roof had collapsed, and at least two walls had caved in.
Quellin is a neighborhood of large two-story homes, ranging from 3,000 to 5,000 square feet, according to several real estate websites.
Observer photographer Davie Hinshaw contributed.
