No injuries in Manns Harbor warehouse fire

Multiple Dare County fire departments and emergency agencies, including all Hatteras Island volunteer fire departments, responded to a major fire in Manns Harbor at the Manteo Furniture & Appliance Warehouse and Valentino Custom Boats Building on Tuesday afternoon, Feb. 27.

“It was the biggest fire response in Dare County that I’ve ever seen,” said Frank Hopkins, chief of the Avon Volunteer Fire Department, who has been a firefighter in Dare County for 27 years.

The fire was reported at 3:14 p.m. with flames coming from the back of the main warehouse building. The buildings were evacuated, and no injuries were reported.

All Dare County fire departments were asked to respond, and agencies from Tyrrell County and Currituck County were also on the scene.

Within several hours, the Manteo Furniture warehouse collapsed, but crews continued to work to contain the fire and protect surrounding structures in the industrial area of the Dare County mainland.

The Valentino Custom Boats building did not collapse, but experienced “significant damage,” Hopkins said.

“Fire destroyed our Manns Harbor warehouse today, but fortunately no injuries to employees, neighbors, and firefighters,”  stated Ken Daniels, owner of Manteo Furniture & Appliance.

The warehouse stored upholstery and casegoods, Daniels said.

First responders on the scene deemed the fire “fully involved,” meaning firefighters fought the blaze from the outside of the building to contain the damage.

The fire departments used three ponds to pump water into tankers, in order to shuttle water to the scene of the fire. Heavy equipment was also needed to lift the metal structure of the collapsed building in order to put out pockets of fire on the inside.

Two Hazmat technicians took water samples to test for any hazardous materials burned on the scene.

The cause of the fire remains unknown at this time, but an investigation will be conducted by Dare County Fire Marshall Steven Kovacs.

This is a developing story and the Island Free Press will continue to post updates as they become available.