| legeros.com > History > NC Multiple Fatality Fires |
Last updated May 13, 2021
This page is a catalog of all STRUCTURAL fires and explosions in North Carolina with
FIVE or more fatalities. See disasters database for coal mine and marine fires and explosions. Contact Mike Legeros to contribute or correct information.
Click a column heading to sort.
| Location | County | Incident | Date | Year | Fatalities | Notes |
| Hamlet | Richmond | Factory | Sept. 3 | 1991 | 25 | Imperial Food Products plant. 56 injured. Fire blamed on ruptured hydraulic fuel line near deep-fat fryer. Victims died of smoke inhalation. Plant owner convicted of criminal charges. Source: Various. |
| Kenansville | Duplin | Corrections | Mar. 7 | 1931 | 11 | Duplin County prison Camp. Eleven prisoners killed in early morning fire that spread from camp kitchen to sleeping quarters. Source: GenD. |
| Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Apartments | Mar. 15 | 1940 | 9 | Guthery Apartments on North Tryon Street. Six injured, including two firefighters injured by people jumping. Seven died at scene. Six alarms including a general alarm. Source: web site. |
| Asheville | Buncombe | Hospital | Mar. 10 | 1948 | 9 | Highland Hospital. Nine female patients killed in four-story Highland Hospital for nervous diseases. Source: GenD. |
| Maxton | Robeson | Residence | Nov. 18 | 1989 | 8 | Mobile home. Eight children killed. Source: USFA. |
| Marion | McDowell | Corrections | Jun. 30 | 1976 | 8 | McDowell County Jail. Prison camp. Eight inmates killed. 26-28 injured. Mattress and other materials burning in dormitory building. Source: Oral history, GNA. |
| Laurinburg | Scotland | Nursing Home | Mar. 17 | 1996 | 8 | Scotch Meadow Rest Home. Fire blamed on sparks from wall outlet with missing faceplate. Source: GNA. |
| Bakersville | Mitchell | Corrections | May 5 | 2005 | 8 | Jail. Eight inmates killed. 13 injured. Fire appeared to start in storage room on ground floor and quickly spread through three-story brick and wood building. Fatalities were locked in their cells. Source: Various. |
| Asheville | Buncombe | Forest | Apr. 3 | 1907 | 7 | Five children killed. Source: Washington Post, 04APR07. |
| Asheville | Buncombe | School | Nov. 16 | 1917 | 7 | Catholic Hill School for colored children. Five children killed, eight serious injured. Furnace fire destroys building. Source: GenD, others. |
| Henderson | Vance | Residence | Jan. 22 | 1985 | 7 | Seven youths killed. Fire believed started in downstairs room containing wood stove. Victims found in upstairs bedroom. Source: AP, 23JAN85. |
| Rocky Mount | Nash | Residence | Nov. 11 | 2000 | 7 | Two blocks from main fire station. Six children killed. Six injured. Source: The State, 13NOV00. |
| Ocean Isle Beach | Brunswick | House | Oct. 28 | 2007 | 7 | Beach house occupied by more than a dozen college students. Seven killed, and several more injured. Source: Sun Journal, 29OCT07. |
| Hertford | Perquimons | Factory | Jan. 13 | 1934 | 6 | Boiler explosion at Eastern Cotton Oil Company plant. Seven injured. Source: GenD. |
| Zebulon | Wake | Residence | Jan. 14 | 1968 | 6 | Senior and five children. |
| Sanford | Lee | Residence | Jan. 18 | 1980 | 6 | Senior, adult, and four children. Reported about 11:00 p.m. by a police officer. Old wood-frame house down a dirt road near downtown, fully involved on arrival. Source: Herald-Journal, 09JAN90. |
| Taylorsville | Alexander | Residence | Feb. 24 | 1996 | 6 | Hidden Valley Road west of Taylorsville. Three children and one senior killed. Fire blamed on electrical short in kitchen outlet. Source: Charlotte Observer, 24FEB96. |
| Silk Hope | Chatham | Residence | Jun. 11 | 2002 | 6 | 3900 Silk Hope Road. Three children killed. Source: Durham Herald-Sun, 12JUN02. |
| Midway Park | Onslow | Residence | Jul. 9 | 2003 | 6 | Mobile home just outside Camp LeJune. Six children killed. Source: USA Today, 09JUL03. |
| Kinston | Lenoir | Factory | Jan. 29 | 2003 | 6 | Explosion and fire. West Pharmaceutical Services. 38 injured. Source: various. |
| ? | Wilkes | Construction Site | Jan. 23 | 1890 | 5 | Explosion of powder where blasting underway for railroad. Dozen or more injured. Source: GenD. |
| Raleigh | Wake | Clubhouse | Feb. 1 | 1948 | 5 | Carolina Country Club. |
| Goldsboro | Wayne | Commercial | Apr. 12 | 1954 | 5 | Explosion and fire. Edwards and Jernigan Furniture Store. Five or more fatalities. 25+ injured. Source: Washington Post and Times Herald, 13APR54 |
| Rocky Mount | Nash | Residence | Jan. 30 | 1957 | 5 | House at 220 Nashville Road. Source: FD yearbook. |
| Kinston | Lenoir | Residence | Dec. 19? | 1964 | 5 | Five-room frame house near Kinston. Five children killed. Source: GenD. |
| Raleigh, south of | Wake County | Residence | Tuesday before August 9 | 1972 | 5 | Home on Penny Road. Alarm time 1:43 a.m. Possibly started by lightning. Sixth member of household escaped with minor injuries. Source: N&O, August 9, 1972. |
| Shelby | Cleveland | Commercial | May 25 | 1979 | 5 | Explosion and fire. Fatalities included four firefighters. |
| Charlotte | Mecklenburg | Residence | Jan. 1 | 1989 | 5 | 1517 Norris Avenue. Fire blamed on cigarette dropped into cushions on upholstered chair. Source: FD yearbook. |
| Brevard | Transylvania | Residence | Nov. 13 | 1991 | 5 | Source: oral history. |
| Chapel Hill | Orange | School / Fraternity | May 12 | 1996 | 5 | Phi Gamma Delta at University of North Carolina. Fire blamed on discarded cigarette or match in basement party room. Victims found in second floor bedrooms. Source: Various. |
| Dunn | Harnett | Residence | Feb. 18 | 1997 | 5 | Three children killed. Source: New York Times, 18FEB97; News & Observer, 24FEB97 |
| Deep Gap | Watauga | Residence | By Apr. 10 | 1999 | 5 | Mobile home at 141 Bill Miller Road. One child killed. Source: Durham Herald-Sun, 10APR99; Winston-Salem Journal, 10APR99. |
| Sanford | Lee | Residence | Mar. 4 | 2006 | 5 | Three children killed. Electrical short believed cause. Two-bedroom house. Source: Fayetteville Observer, 05MAR06; GNA. |
Copyright 2023 by Michael J. Legeros