Granite Falls Fire Victims Get Answers From Owner

GRANITE FALLS, NC — The Granite Falls warehouse fire is still burning for a fifth night in a row.

The State Bureau of Investigation and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives are started investigating Tuesday. The Fire Marshal says that’s routine for a fire this size.

“I don’t even have a spoon or a fork,” said Tawna Huffman. “So, I mean, I lost it all.”
250 people rented storage units there. Many did not have insurance. They say the owner never offered it and never required a contract to rent.

“We’d pay at the Members Credit Union and get a receipt. That’s all. We never got a contract or anything,” said Huffman.

“I do wonder if there was negligence there,” said Andrea Derosier.

WCCB Charlotte asked, The State Department of Insurance and several attorneys agree it is standard practice for rental companies to offer insurance, but it is not required by law in North Carolina.

“It was my baby, ” said Mike Granger. “I lived there. I enjoyed the heck of it. It was tough to lose, and then you got 250 other people lost everything.”

WCCB Charlotte asked Granger why he did not tell everyone they need insurance.

“Man, that’s a toughie there,” said Granger. “I did with some people, when they asked, ‘Do you have insurance?’ I would say, ‘No. We don’t.’, But I should have been proactive.”

Granger did not insure the building.

“It had one line that had asbestos in it, and it had wooden floors,” said Granger. “The underwriters either wouldn’t underwrite it, or it was so expensive that it didn’t seem logical at the time.”

Firefighters expect this to keep smoldering throughout the week before investigators can get in there and figure out how this happened.

We do know the Fire Marshal’s Office inspected earlier this month and told the owner to repair sprinkler system, fix exit lighting signs, add extinguishers mount extinguishers and cover electrical panels.

WCCB Charlotte requested to see past inspection reports. The Fire Marshal’s Office expects to have that ready Wednesday.

The owner had someone on fire watch 24/7 who smelled something strange hours before the fire started, but didn’t think it was smoke.

Renters are desperate to get inside to see if anything is salvageable.

“They say its a total loss, but I’ve got to see my stuff for myself to know,” said Huffman.