LEE COUNTY - A large home described on one web site as the “finest work” of a Harvard University modernist architect was destroyed by a fire Saturday in northern Lee County near the Chatham County line.
Firefighters from Northwest Pocket Fire Department responded at 14:54 to a reported alarm activation in the shop adjacent to the residence.
Upon arrival of first due engine, the garage was found to be fully involved with the residence adjacent becoming involved in the fire.
Suppression efforts were hampered by 20-25 mph winds and brutal cold.
Four alarms were transmitted for the call and included the following departments, Northwest Pocket Fire Department, West Sanford Fire Department, Tramway Fire Department, Northview Fire Department, all from Lee County, and Goldston Fire Department and Bonlee Fire Department from Chatham County.
Central Carolina Advance Life Support provided medical standby for crews in the sun freezing temperatures. American Red Cross was also on scene offering assistance.
“The house is a total loss,” said Shane Seagroves, director of Lee County Emergency Management. “So is the shop that was attached to it. When the fire department arrived, the shop was fully involved, and strong winds going west to east just blew the flames straight over to the house.”
Nobody was home when the fire began, Seagroves said, and nobody was hurt in the fire. By 7 p.m., crews were setting up a tent and began pumping heat into it so firemen could get warm while working in temperatures that dropped into the 20s after sundown.
Lee County Emergency Services assisted by the NC State Bureau of Investigation is conducting the Origin and Cause Investigation.
The multi-level home, located at 2774 North Plank Road, is owned by Edward Metcalf of Conveyor Technologies in Sanford and his wife April. The home is one of many featured at the web site, www.trianglemodernisthouses.com, on a page dedicated to architect Brian Shawcroft, an MIT and Harvard grad who was also an associate professor for the North Carolina State School of Design.
According to the site, the home was regarded “as his finest work, taking three years to build,” and according to Seagroves, is worth nearly $1 million in property value.
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