Fire crews from across central North Carolina — including Alamance, Guilford and Orange Counties — responded to a fire at 300 E. Parker St. in Graham at around 8 p.m. on Nov. 12. Crews worked throughout the night to get the fire under control, with hot spots remaining into Nov. 13.
During the response, homes around the abandoned complex were evacuated to protect residents from the burning complex. Residents in the area were also without power. The Graham Recreation Center on College Street served as a temporary shelter for those affected in the community, according to Graham Mayor Jennifer Talley.
The source of the fire has not yet been identified according to Beau Russell, fire inspector at the Graham Fire Department.
This marked the second major fire at the same complex , the first of which occurred in October 2022 and resulted in multiple confirmed structural collapses.
The roughly 11-acre complex was used until Culp Weaving Textile Mill closed the facility in 2007 when it decided to move operations to Anderson, South Carolina. and overseas to Shanghai.
The owner of the complex, UK Warehousing LLC, is registered as a North Carolina Domestic Limited-Liability Company in Morrisville, North Carolina.
Records from the Alamance County Tax Administration show that UK Warehousing LLC has failed to pay taxes on the property since 2017. Cumulatively, UK Warehousing LLC owes roughly $17,647 in taxes.
One local resident, who wished to remain anonymous, said they have had concerns about security around the complex, especially after the October 2022 fire.
“There were already holes in the fence, but then the October 2022 fire happened, and the fire department cut large swaths of the fence out so they could get in and there was no effort made to secure the property at all,” the resident said. “Anybody who wanted to could easily walk in there.”