What caused Mills River Fire Station blaze — state report issued? What happened to Pardee Urgent Care in Fletcher? Can I haul my own debris? • Asheville Watchdog
Today’s round of questions, my smart-aleck replies and the real answers:
Question: Back in January, one of the Mills River Fire Department stations burned down. Have they ever determined what the cause of the fire was?
My answer: Irony?
Real answer: The North Carolina Office of the State Fire Marshal conducted this investigation, and it released the results to me Monday in a formal report. The fire occurred early Jan. 17 and was first noticed by an Amazon driver returning to the company’s facility in Mills River who saw heavy smoke coming from the building and flames inside, the report states.
The report likely will not satisfy anyone, as the cause of the blaze, which collapsed the roof, destroyed the interior of the block building and consumed a fire truck, is “undetermined.”
“The general area of origin was located at or around the apparatus bays near the ceiling level,” the report states. “The fire event is classified as undetermined with possible causes of electrical failure in the apparatus bays, Plymovent exhaust system failure, a fire originating at or around the engine, and an incendiary incident.”
The 3,888-square-foot building, built in 2004 and remodeled in 2024, comprised a four-bay apparatus storage area and an office/living space.
Mills River Fire Station No. 2 experienced a roof collapse in the bay area along with other extensive damage. // Photo credit: North Carolina Office of State Fire Marshal
No one was injured in the blaze at Station No. 2, located at 100 Fanning Mills Road.
The structure had undergone a remodel in December, the report states, noting that it consisted of “painting, drywall work, etc. The remodel work had all been done in the office/residential portion of the building with no work being done in the apparatus bays.”
The 20-page report offered a narrative between State Fire Investigator Taylor Marsh and Mills River Fire Department Battalion Chief Brandon Munsey that offered details on those possible fire causes listed above. Asheville Watchdog received an electronic version of the report, which included several redactions, including some that appear to be random.
Marsh had asked Munsey about any known issues with the building or its systems.
Let’s take a closer look at several of them:
Faulty exhaust removal system: “Chief Munsey stated there had been several issues with the building and building system in the previous weeks leading up to the fire,” the report states. “The first issue was with the Plymovent exhaust system located in the apparatus bays of the building. Chief Munsey stated a piece of the Plymovent system had recently malfunctioned causing the unnamed piece to ‘burn up.’ Plymovent had sent out a technician to evaluate the system and eventually replace the faulty piece of the system.”
The Plymovent system extracts exhaust and removes harmful fumes from enclosed spaces.
Bay heater problems: Chief Munsey stated they had experienced problems with one of the two bay heaters where the trucks were parked.
“The heaters are mounted at ceiling level in the apparatus bays and the heater mounted on the north side of the building above the brush truck had recently experienced problems,” the report states. “Chief Munsey stated that water had recently leaked through the roof causing a failure in the motherboard of the heater resulting in the motherboard burning up. A technician had come out and replaced the motherboard in the heater approximately two to three weeks before the fire event.”
Generator issues: “Chief Munsey stated that the generator for the fire department had also recently experienced problems,” the report said. “Chief Munsey stated that during Hurricane Helene, firefighters arrived at the fire station to standby and the station had lost power.”
Firefighters stated that the generator had turned on but was “surging the building’s electrical system causing the lights for the building to flash on and off,” the report continued. “Chief Munsey stated that the generator for the building is a 15 kilowatt generator that was originally installed when the building was built in 2004. Over the years, other systems were added to the building and to the generator causing the generator to become overloaded. Chief Munsey stated they were recently advised that the building needed a 40 kilowatt generator to accurately power the building in the event of a power loss.”
A “burning smell” in a fire truck parked in the bay the day before the fire: Munsey told the investigator “that a week before the fire event, the engine that was parked in the bay had been on a mutual aid call and had experienced total power failure twice on the same call. He stated the engine had been repaired by their local technician but could not speak specifically about what the problem was with the engine.”
“Chief Munsey also stated that the day before the fire, a member had backed the brush truck into the bays and when he got out of the brush truck after parking it, he noticed a burning smell but could never pinpoint where the smell was coming from,” the report continued.
The building’s overall electrical system does not seem to have been problematic. The building had underground electrical service, and “the meter was visually examined revealing no evidence of malfunction, internal heat development, or fire origin.
“The main circuit breaker panel was located on the interior of the west wall to the right ofthe single entry door,” the report continues. “The panel was visually examined and documented. There was no evidence of malfunction, internal heat development, or fire origin at the breaker panel.”
Similarly, a natural gas meter showed no evidence of malfunction, internal heat development or fire origin, according to the report.
Surprisingly, the building apparently did not have an alarm system.
“The structure was not equipped with an alarm monitoring system,” the report continues. “The building was equipped with security cameras that monitored the exterior of the building. The cameras were recorded to a local DVR housed within the building. The DVR was removed by the Henderson County Sheriff’s Office before the investigator’s arrival.”
The DVR was “damaged to the point of being unable to retrieve any data,” according to the report.
I don’t know about y’all, but I’m thinking it’s kind of amazing this fire station made it as long as it did.
Pardee Urgent Care at the Mission Pardee Health Campus in Fletcher has closed. A Pardee vice president said Pardee “made the decision to pause operations at the Mission Pardee Health Campus in order to concentrate resources at its three other Urgent Care locations in Brevard, Hendersonville, and Mills River.” // Watchdog photo by John Boyle
Question: What has happened at the Pardee Urgent Care facility on Hendersonville Road in Fletcher? It has been temporarily closed now for at least a month or more. It used to be a joint collaborative facility between Pardee and Mission, and the building is still called the Mission Pardee Health Campus.
My answer: It’s almost like there’s some simmering resentment between our local hospitals, just lurking right beneath the surface.
Real answer: John Bryant, vice president of operations and support services for UNC Health Pardee, offered some background and an explanation.
“The Mission Pardee Health Campus includes two buildings, of which both Mission and UNC Health Pardee occupy spaces and have since 2013 when it opened,” Bryant said via email. “In addition to the Urgent Care facility mentioned by your reader, Pardee has also provided primary care and specialty services, including neurology, cardiology, and general surgery, on the Mission Pardee Health Campus in Fletcher for many years.”
So, about the closing.
“Recently, Pardee made the decision to pause operations at the Mission Pardee Health Campus in order to concentrate resources at its three other Urgent Care locations in Brevard, Hendersonville, and Mills River,” Bryant said. “Pardee has not made a decision as to when Urgent Care operations will resume at its Fletcher location, but continues to maintain its primary care and specialty services of neurology, cardiology, and general surgery at the Mission Pardee Health Campus.”
I’ll note the “Pardee Urgent Care” letters have been removed from the building.
I asked Pardee if the November opening of Mission Health’s South Asheville ER near the intersection of Hendersonville and Airport roads, a mile north of Mission Pardee, had anything to do with the decision to close its urgent care. Pardee did not directly answer that question.
“Pardee’s primary care practices are available for many of the needs that patients may need when seeking care at an urgent care facility,” Bryant said. “Contact the Pardee primary care patient navigator at 828-694-8012 to schedule an appointment.”
For its part regarding the Mission Pardee operation, Mission Health spokesperson Nancy Lindell said, “The Mission parts of that campus — Vista Family Health, Mission Imaging, Pharmacy, etc., are all open and have been open.”
The Mission Pardee Health Campus, according to Henderson County property records, is owned by MH Mission Hospital LLLP, sits on 9.7 acres and has a tax value of $16.9 million.
Question: Your recent column on Helene’s debris along rights-of-way pointed out that that program is essentially over even though substantial amounts of debris remain throughout our region. But if an individual happens to have a hauling vehicle, for example a pickup truck or a modest farm dump truck or a trailer, and is able to load up his own vehicle with debris from his place, where can it be taken for appropriate disposal? Perhaps you might be able to pursue this question with some appropriate county officials about this.
My answer: I can just imagine that “modest farm truck” being like, “Oh, this load? It’s nothing. Not a problem at all. I’m happy to help. I’m just an old modest farm truck after all.” But secretly, it’s probably like, “I’m the baddest truck on the farm, baby! Whatcha got? Load me up. I can haul it all!”
Real answer: As I mentioned in that column last week, the deadline to apply for the Private Property Debris Removal Program was April 15. May 15 is the deadline to get all of your paperwork settled with that process.
So storm debris is still getting picked up.
Buncombe County spokesperson Lillian Govus said you can haul storm debris yourself.
“If folks are hauling things themselves, they should take vegetative debris to the Riverside Stump Dump,” Govus said via email. “Other items should go to the Buncombe County Landfill.
On its website, the Stump Dump says, “Our facilities accept: wood waste, pallets, green waste, along with any other clean wood.” It’s smart to check the landfill website first before loading up to make sure your materials will be accepted.
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Asheville Watchdog is a nonprofit news team producing stories that matter to Asheville and Buncombe County. Got a question? Send it to John Boyle at jboyle@avlwatchdog.org or 828-337-0941. His Answer Man columns appear each Tuesday and Friday. The Watchdog’s reporting is made possible by donations from the community. To show your support for this vital public service go to avlwatchdog.org/support-our-publication/.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
The content presents a straightforward, fact-based report on local issues such as the fire investigation at a fire station, the closure of a local urgent care facility, and storm debris disposal options. The language is neutral, focusing on official statements and detailed explanations without evident partisan slant or ideological framing. It aims to inform readers about community matters without pushing a political agenda, suggesting a centrist or neutral bias.
www.thecentersquare.com – By Alan Wooten | The Center Square – (The Center Square – ) 2025-05-07 07:34:00
(The Center Square) – Expansion of the state auditor’s authority for investigations is on the way to the Senate in North Carolina.
Clarify Powers of State Auditor, known also as House Bill 549, got considerable debate and some amendments along the way before Tuesday evening’s 66-46 passage in the chamber with 71-49 majority Republicans. There were no Democrats for it, and only Rep. Ray Pickett of Watauga County against it from the Grand Old Party.
Dave Boliek, North Carolina auditor
Auditor.NC.gov
Dave Boliek is the first-term Republican auditor. The legislation doesn’t have a sunset and would commence July 1 with the start of the fiscal year.
Publicly funded entities is an enhanced definition allowing probes into organizations that receive, disburse or handle federal and state funds. In similarity to second-term Republican President Donald Trump’s creation of the Department of Government Efficiency, the state auditor would be able to audit for government efficiency, risk assessment, fraud detection, audit planning and evidence gathering.
Publicly funded entity, through debate and amendment, evolved into “any individual, corporation, institution, association, board or other organization that receives, disburses or handles state or federal funds,” says the bill digest provided by the UNC School of Government in concert with the state legislative website.
In the Senate, The DAVE Act – Senate Bill 474 – was sent to the House of Representatives on April 9. It awaits action from the lower chamber’s Committee on Rules, Calendar and Operations. That bill, notably supported by Sen. Dan Blue, D-Wake, has a sunset concurrent with the next election, or Dec. 31, 2028.
The Senate’s proposal would establish the Division of Accountability, Value, and Efficiency within the office of state auditor. If made law, it would enact the division “directing each state agency to report to the division on its use of public monies and the status of its vacant positions and directing the division to assess the continued need of each state agency and the vacant positions within each agency.”
Before the 2023-24 legislative session ended, appointment power for the members of the State Board of Elections was shifted from the governor to the auditor. Boliek’s fivesome was scheduled for their first meeting Wednesday morning.
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Right
The article largely presents a factual report on legislative developments regarding the expansion of the North Carolina state auditor’s authority. It describes the legislative process, voting outcomes, and details of the bills without emotive or persuasive language. However, subtle framing elements, such as the comparison of Republican-led initiatives to former President Donald Trump’s policies and the highlighting of bipartisan support for related legislation, suggest a slight leaning toward a center-right perspective by focusing on Republican actions and framing them positively in terms of government efficiency. Nonetheless, the tone remains mostly neutral and informative, primarily reporting on the positions and actions of the involved parties rather than promoting a distinct ideological stance.
SUMMARY: Hurricane Helene flooded 23,000 vehicles, and scammers are taking advantage of this disaster by reselling these cars to unsuspecting buyers. Some of these vehicles are cleaned up and resold without being properly branded as flood-damaged, while others are being sold in states with more lenient title laws to avoid the flood damage designation. Buyers are advised to inspect cars for signs of water damage, such as stained carpets, odd smells, and malfunctioning electronics. Experts warn that these vehicles may develop significant issues over time, including electrical problems and rust, making them unreliable and dangerous.
Experts estimate that 23,000 cars, trucks and SUVs were flooded in North Carolina during Hurricane Helene. As those cars go to auction, they could fall into the hands of scammers looking to profit off those vehicles at your expense. WRAL 5 On Your Side Producer Pritchard Strong explains the warning signs to look out for.
SUMMARY: The House passed two significant bills related to minors’ rights and safety. House Bill 519 limits minors’ consent to medical treatment to pregnancy only, granting parents access to medical records except in emergencies or abuse cases. Supporters argue it restores parental authority, while opponents warn it could hinder youth from seeking sensitive care like contraception or mental health services. Meanwhile, House Bill 301, with strong bipartisan support, restricts social media use by banning accounts for children under 14 and requiring parental consent and age verification for 14- and 15-year-olds. Both bills now proceed to the Senate for review.
The NC House advanced several measures aimed at protecting children and strengthening parental rights.
