Resident dies in fire at Arbor Ridge | Local News

EDEN — One person is confirmed dead following an early morning fire at Arbor Ridge, an assisted-living community.

The victim, whose name and gender have not been released, was removed from a badly-burned, upper-floor apartment at 2:30 p.m., 13 hours after the fire broke out.

Rescue crews put the victim on a gurney and lowered it to the ground with an Eden Fire Department ladder truck.

“Sadly, a resident passed away,” Arbor Ridge said in a statement released Monday afternoon.

“The entire Arbor Ridge at Eden family is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of a cherished member of our community and our prayers are with the late resident’s family.”

When the victim was pulled from the building, several friends and family members gathered in a circle across the street and prayed. Most of them left at the same time.

Forty-six other residents and employees were accounted for following a blaze that ripped through the south end of the facility at 302 S. Kennedy St. at 1:39 a.m.

Everyone was evacuated to the Eden YMCA, across the street. Several residents were taken to Morehead Memorial Hospital for treatment of smoke inhalation.

Fire Marshal Robert Cardwell said a large piece of heavy equipment was called to the scene to help excavate some of the debris in hopes of locating the missing person.

Law enforcement had South Kennedy Street blocked on both ends, between Stadium Drive and Kings Highway, allowing only rescue crews and family members of Arbor Ridge residents through.

Officials say the fire heavily damaged about a dozen apartments, which are all housed under one roof of a 45,922-square-foot, two-story building.

Fire Chief Tommy Underwood said crews had trouble getting some residents to leave the facility.

“The fire alarm was going off, and a lot of times they don’t pay attention to it,” he said.

“I live at the other end, and I was in my recliner when the bells went off. We didn’t know what was going on,” said Jackie Turman, a resident of Unit 101. “I have a little birdie in there. I’ll come back down here later when things clear up a little bit.

“This is all I got out,” she said tearfully, pointing to a small bundle of clothes in a clear garbage bag on her passenger seat. “Everything in there smells like smoke.”

It was 9:15 a.m., and she had just been able to retrieve her small hatchback car from Arbor Ridge’s parking lot. She was headed to her son’s house in Draper.

For residents with no family nearby, the facility’s management team contacted local hotels and other retirement communities who could provide housing, according to Marc Maready with Arbor Ridge.

The American Red Cross took several of them to a facility in Stokes County.

Investigators are trying to determine the cause of the fire.