One person has died after a fire at a house owned by NASCAR star Denny Hamlin, officials said on Monday.
The local fire department had confirmed on Sunday night that two people were taken from the property to hospital for possible smoke inhalation, with officials confirming to local media that one has now passed away, with the other 'seriously hurt'.
Chief David Toomey of the Lucia Riverbend Fire Department told media that the fire was reported at 6:19pm ET on Sunday, with both of the hospitalised individuals already out of the house when the fire department arrived. The names of the people involved have not been released.
Neighbours confirmed to WSOC-TV that Hamlin's parents live at the property in Stanley, NC, although Toomey declined to answer when that was put to him directly.
It took around two hours to get the blaze under control, complicated by the fact that the part of Stanley in question has no fire hydrants.
Cause of deadly fire currently unclear
Speaking after the fire had been brought under control, the fire chief told WSOC-TV: “Well this house was about 40-45% involved when we got here.
"Of course where we are located there are no hydrants, so all the water had to be trucked in and there were times we would run out of water and we had to wait for more water to get here. We had to call for more, additional tankers throughout the county.”
The cause of the fire is currently being investigated, and officials said that they will release more information later on Monday.
The thoughts of Oval Insider's staff are with those affected by the tragic fire.
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