At 20:52 hours this evening, B-Shift was dispatched to a report of a commercial structure fire at 2707 NC Highway 86 South in Hillsborough. Engine 234 arrived on scene in less than four minutes and reported smoke and fire conditions from several storage units at the location. After gaining access into the property and forcing entry into the storage units, an aggressive fire attack quickly contained the majority of the fire. Due to the amount of time that the fire had burned unreported, fire had spread to the roof of the structure and was traveling the attic space. Firefighters from New Hope Fire Department trench cut the roof to gain access and to stop the forward spread of the fire while firefighters from Orange Rural, Eno and Orange Grove extinguished fires, pulled ceilings and extinguished smoldering hot spots.
Multiple storage units had to be emptied in order for the firefighters to gain access and extinguish the fires.
Crews were rotated out of the fire scene to rehydrate and cool down due to the high heat index and increased core temperatures associated with wearing the protective clothing firefighters have.
The building was not occupied when firefighters arrived and there were no reports of any injuries.
The cause of the fire has being investigated by the Orange County Fire Marshal with assistance from the City of Mebane Fire Marshal.