At 0102 hours this morning, B-Shift was dispatched to a structure fire north of Hillsborough. Initial dispatch was for a two story residential structure with smoke and flames visible and multiple people trapped. Orange County Sheriff's Deputies arrived on scene and reported a two story residence fully involved in fire. Deputies removed the victims they could get to and rendered aid until Orange County EMS arrived.
Engine 231 arrived on scene within five minutes of dispatch. Crews completed primary searches of the building. One section of the building was burned away and crews were unable to search that area until the fire was knocked down. A partial collapse occurred and prevented further search efforts. Crews breached walls and the collapsed floor and found a victim. There were three victims of this fire. Two were transported to local hospitals and their conditions are unknown. The third victim was located in the collapsed portion of the building and is deceased.

The cause of the fire is under investigation by the Orange County Fire Marshal.

We want to thank Efland, Caldwell and Cedar Grove Fire Departments for their assistance on this incident.
We want to thank New Hope Fire for covering our calls until we could free up some trucks and crews.
We also want to recognize the Orange County Sheriff's Deputies and Orange County EMS for the hard work at this incident.