MILLS RIVER – An early morning fire burned down a Mills River Fire Department substation Jan. 17, officials confirmed.
The fire, which was first reported around 1:30 a.m., destroyed everything in Mills River Fire Department Station 2, including three fire vehicles from the volunteer fire department, according to Henderson County spokesperson Mike Morgan.
“The worst part is one of those trucks was being prepped to be sent out to California to help with the wildfires,” Morgan said.
The fire and its cause are currently under investigation by the Henderson County Fire Marshal’s Office as well as the North Carolina Fire Marshal’s Office, as is typical when a fire erupts at a law enforcement or first responder’s station, he said.
The substation is a total loss, according to information that Henderson County Fire Marshal Kevin Waldrup shared with Morgan.
The building is unmanned, and no one was present or injured during the fire. The volunteer fire department had moved to a new fire station “a year or so ago,” Morgan said.
“Even though it’s a loss in the county, it’s more of a loss to those guys. Especially Mills River, they got hit pretty hard during (Tropical Storm Helene). There’s a lot of good people I know in that fire department,” Morgan said.
Ryley Ober is the Public Safety Reporter for Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Email her at rober@gannett.com and follow her on Twitter @ryleyober
This article originally appeared on Hendersonville Times-News: Sudden fire burns down Mills River Fire Department substation