A normal Tuesday afternoon at an apartment complex in Southern Pines quickly turned to panic for some residents after a fire broke out in one of the units.
Multiple fire departments were dispatched around 3:30 p.m. to Greenmont Apartments located on Dean Avenue.
Southern Pines Fire Chief Mike Cameron was first to arrive on scene and reported a working kitchen fire with light smoke showing from a two-story apartment complex.
A tenant on the first floor was preparing to cook french fries when a grease fire broke out and was quickly spreading throughout the kitchen. The female occupant of the apartment and the other occupants in the building were evacuated.
Firefighters were able to quickly put out the fire and contain it to the single apartment, but four apartments received smoke damage.
No one was injured in the fire. According to officials, property management was placing displaced tenants in hotel rooms while repairs are made.
Responding to the scene were Southern Pines Fire Department, Aberdeen Fire Department, Pinehurst Fire Department, Whispering Pines Fire Department and Moore County EMS.
~Article and photo by Sandhills Sentinel Reporter Daniel Gwyn.
