House burns down in Boiling Spring Lakes

A longtime Boiling Spring Lakes resident watched his house burn down Monday night.

Jeff Necessary returned from dinner to his home at 124 Pike Road and found it consumed by the blaze, said Nelson Cobble, the town's fire chief. When firefighters arrived at the scene a little after 11 p.m., the two-story house had flames coming out of its windows and doors, Cobble said.

"The flames were already through the roof," the fire chief said. "The house was burning for a while before anybody noticed it and before anybody called 911."

No one was injured, Cobble said. The fire began in the kitchen but its cause is still unclear, he said, adding there was no sign of foul play.

Along with the Boiling Spring Lakes Fire Department, fire units from Winnabow, St. James, Southport and Sunny Point and Brunswick County Emergency Services responded to the scene, for a total of 57 firefighters and rescue workers, Cobble said. It took five hours to extinguish the fire and clean up, he said.

Necessary and his father had built the house 20 years ago, said Cobble, an acquaintance of the victim. Necessary was not able to recover his possessions and is staying in the area with relatives, the fire chief said.

"Everything was a total loss," Cobble said. "Anytime something like this happens, it affects the whole town."

Ana Ribeiro: 343-2327

ana.ribeiro@starnewsonline.com