Fire at Richard Green Apartments displaces family Monday evening

A fire Monday evening in Kinston displaced seven people. 

Chief Damien Locklear of the Kinston Department of Fire and Rescue said smoke was visible through the windows of one of the 2-story units at Richard Green Apartments on Bright Street in Kinston when units arrived on the scene. 

Commander N.E. Hobbs took command when he arrived on the scene, and told Neuse News firefighters searched the apartment to make sure no one was inside, because they had been told there was a possibility someone was home. The search did not find anyone inside, Hobbs said.

The KDFR also evacuated the occupants of neighboring units to ensure everyone was safe, Locklear said. 

The flames were not immediately visible because of the way the building was constructed, Hobbs said, but there was smoke throughout the unit.  

Damage from the fire itself was limited to the living room on the ground floor, Hobbs said, but the entire apartment suffered from smoke damage, so the occupants would be displaced.

The Red Cross was on the scene as of around 9 p.m. to assist the two adults and five children displaced by the fire. 

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, Locklear said.