Two Die in Structure Fire on Prentiss Bridge Road

PRESS RELEASE (01-05-2025)
MACON COUNTY SHERIFF'S OFFICE

Tragic House Fire Claims Two Lives in Macon County, North Carolina

In a devastating incident, a residential fire erupted in Macon County, North Carolina resulting in the tragic loss of two lives. The incident occurred on the south end of Macon County at/around 6 p.m. on January 5. Emergency services responded promptly to the distress call, but despite their best efforts, two individuals were found deceased.

The Clarks Chapel Fire Department, along with neighboring fire departments, swiftly responded, battling intense flames for several hours, and managed to contain and extinguish the fire. The cause of the fire is currently under investigation, and the deceased individuals will be undergoing autopsies today to confirm their causes of death.

“Our thoughts and prayers go out to the families affected by this devastating fire,” said Sheriff Brent Holbrooks. “Our dedicated firefighters worked diligently to control the blaze and provide assistance as we worked the scene. We will collaborate with the State Bureau of Investigation to thoroughly investigate the incident and ascertain the root cause.”

The names of the two individuals will not be released at this time.

MCSO will continue to provide updates on the investigation as more information becomes available.

--END PRESS RELEASE--

Macon Media covered this incident at https://www.facebook.com/100053445258023/posts/pfbid0YraCc7owFmr6Gw4C7DGprSUtAvqZUq4xtCvPnfZ1wqC3VZuXqDMMGFLDwWfPvR37l/

For those who do not use Facebook, here is a copy of the post and a mirror of the updates:

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There is a report of a fully-involved structure fire near 800 Prentiss Bridge Road. EMS and Clarks Chapel VFD are responding. Franklin and Otto VFDs are mutual and assistance. (A responding firefighter confirms this is a working fire) 

Please use caution in this area for the next few hours. Be on the lookout for firefighters and vehicles near the roadway. #WNCscan #MaconTraffic #MaconSafety 

 Published at 6.07pm on Thursday, January 04, 2024

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Update thread started.

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**6.24pm** The structure is already suffering from partial collapse and Command has determined no interior attacks will be made due to safety concerns.

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*6.35pm** [reserved for posting later]
--added at 10.39am on Saturday, 01-05-2024--
Firefighters report the discovery of a body, possibly two during an interior search.

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**6.38pm** An interior search has been underway for a few minutes.

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**6.46pm** [redacted #2 will be filled in later] --
added at 10.39am on Saturday, 01-05-2024--
Command has requested MCSO and SBI involvement.

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**6.48pm** This scene will be active with personnel for quite some time, so use extreme caution and be on the lookout for personnel and/or vehicles in or near the roadway. Be mindful that temperatures will drop below freezing and the roadway may become slick, so detour around this location until after daylight tomorrow.

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**6.58pm** [redacted #3 -- will be filled in later]
--added at 10.39am on Saturday, 01-05-2024--
A citizen has arrived at the scene and informed firefighters the residence was likely occupied by two people.

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**7.04pm** Command has asked EMS to move their staging location from the Kingdown Hall up to the house.

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**7.09pm** Ending coverage and going to bed. I'll be back at midnight to start prepping the news and weather briefing. --Bobby

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**10.42am on 01-05-2024** MCSO has published at press release. Macon Media has posted a copy at https://thunderpigblog.blogspot.com/2024/01/two-die-in-structure-fire-on-prentiss.html

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No Injuries From Aircraft Crash at Macon County Airport

At 3:15pm on Thursday, March 11, 2021, there was a report of an aircraft crash at the Macon County Airport. [LINK] A Cessna 421B (tail registration N80056) owned by DuoTech of Franklin ran off the runway this afternoon, sliding in a field for some distance before knocking over a fence and coming to rest in a corner of Liberty Wood Products. According to an eyewitness, there was a pilot and two passengers onboard the aircraft. Everyone on the aircraft exited the plane without injury before fire consumed the twin-engine Cessna. The day before the crash, the aircraft had completed a 52-minute flight testing the "Cessna Airborne Radar Test Platform" on a flight that took it into Georgia and back from 2:01pm to 2:53pm.

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Macon County EMS, Franklin Fire Department, Burningtown Fire Department, Cowee Fire Department, and West Macon Fire Department responded to assist with extinguishing the fire. The Fire Marshall and other personnel established a hazard mitigation downstream from the crash in case fuel leaked into Iotla Creek, which runs to the northeast and drains into the Little Tennessee River. The Macon County Sheriff's Office responded to provide scene security and the North Carolina Highway Patrol responded with several units to gather information for the investigation. One trooper was observed measuring the distance the aircraft slid before coming to rest. The FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) and the NTSB (National Transportation Safety Board) will conduct a thorough investigation and Macon Media will share that information once it is released.

Here is a preliminary report of the incident from the NC Highway Patrol:

At about 3:16 p.m. the North Carolina State Highway Patrol responded to an aircraft crash at the Macon County Airport. A twin-engine Cessna 421 B was attempting to take off and ran off the end of the runway catching fire and sustained extensive damage. The pilot of the aircraft and two passengers escaped the aircraft without injuries. The incident is currently being investigated by the FAA and NTSB.

Nine years ago (on March 16, 2012), five people were killed in a crash at the airport. [LINK]

A pilot walked away from a crash landing near the Ledford Stretch section of the Georgia Road (US-441) on November 16, 2018.[LINK]

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Published at 8:25pm on Thursday, March 11, 2021

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Structure Fire on Sunset Ridge Road

Bobby Coggins
Publisher & Editor
MaconMedia.com
June 9, 2016


FRANKLIN - Several local volunteer fire departments responded to an early morning structure fire on Sunset Ridge Road. A neighbor reported the fire shortly before 4:00 am and noted there were explosions occurring. (These turned out to be propane tanks).

Burningtown-Iotla Fire Department was the initial responding VFD and Franklin and Cowee Fire Departments provided mutual aid. Clarks Chapel Fire Department was called out to assist after the initial units arrived at the scene. The Command Post reported the fire knocked down at 4:37 am.

No one was known to be at home at the time of the fire and the Fire Marshall is investigating the origin of the fire.

VIDEO AND PHOTOS

The photos are presented in the order they were taken and some of them have been processed so firefighters and the structure can be better seen by the reader.

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Power Outage Rose Creek/Meadows Road Area

Power Outage Rose Creek/Meadows Road Area

A tree fell on some power lines earlier this morning near 4000 Rose Creek Road and electrical service was cut to 160 Duke Energy Customers. Restoration of power is estimated to occur by 1:00 pm today.

Burningtown Fire Department responded to a report of a tree on some power lines and smoking. 

Facebook Mirror of this post.



UPDATES

**12:28 pm** Duke reports electrical service has been restored.

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Fire Claims RV on Rose Creek Road

Bobby Coggins
Publisher & Editor
MaconMedia.com
May 3, 2016

FRANKLIN-- Burningtown Fire Department was called out to report of an RV (Recreational Vehicle) that was reported to be fully involved in fire. The caller reported that the RV was within five feet of another trailer. Franklin and Cowee Fire departments were mutual aid on this incident.

The fire took place just north of the intersection of Rose Creek Road and Saldeer Mountain Road. The road was briefly closed to through traffic during the firefighting operation and was quickly reopened. No injuries were reported.

At the time of this post, determination of the cause had not been made by firefighters. Other photos taken at the scene are posted below, beginning with a Google Map image showing the location of the fire.

All these images may be clicked on to view at a larger size. Once the images are full screen, you may navigate back and forth through them using the right and left arrow on your keyboard. If you are on a mobile device, you may navigate through the images by swiping them from side to side.

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