Burlington Firefighters Contain 714 Durham Street House Fire in Under 15 Minutes

Burlington Fire Department crews contained a house fire at 714 Durham Street in less than 15 minutes after arriving, officials said, following a call about the blaze at roughly 5:35 p.m. on Feb. 17. First responders found smoke coming from the home's second floor with some flames visible when they reached the scene.

"Firefighters quickly confirmed there was no one in the house and quickly worked to extinguish the fire, which was under control in less than 15 minutes after firefighters arrived, the fire department said." Local television coverage of the incident noted firefighters were dispatched at 5:36 p.m., a minor discrepancy with the reported call time that the department’s incident report can clarify.

Burlington Fire Department estimated the fire caused about $40,000 in structural damage and $10,000 in damage to the contents of the home. The cause remains under investigation, and the department has not released a final determination of origin or an official tally of responding apparatus and personnel.

The department listed multiple agencies assisting at the scene: Burlington Police Department, Alamance County EMS, Duke Energy, Piedmont Natural Gas, and the American Red Cross. Those partners typically handle traffic and scene security, medical standby, utility shutdowns, and short-term housing or aid when occupants are displaced.

The Durham Street response aligns with Burlington's longer-term operational goals. Battalion Chief Daniel Shoffner has said the department aims to have a team arrive within four minutes of leaving a station, and department data show crews arrive in six minutes and 54 seconds or less 90 percent of the time. Burlington Fire serves roughly 60,000 residents from six stations while the city's population rose an estimated 7 percent from 2020 to 2024 and demand for services has increased between 2 percent and 5 percent annually since 2021. "Wherever the city goes, we do need to follow to be able to provide those services for our people and be able to respond to emergencies in a timely manner," Shoffner said.

Historical department records show similar rapid responses. A Burlington Fire Department media release about a March 23, 2019, house fire at 523 James Street reported units arriving in three minutes, 17 personnel on scene, and the blaze under control about 30 minutes after dispatch. That release listed Daniel Shoffner as Public Information Officer with contact details dshoffner@BurlingtonNC.gov, office 336.229.3571 and cell 336.451.0448.

Officials emphasized the Durham Street fire did not involve trapped occupants; investigators will determine the cause and finalize damage estimates. Burlington Fire Department has not yet released the complete incident report with exact dispatch, arrival and under-control timestamps; the department said it will provide updates as its investigation proceeds.