didn't see a thread and thought it was a pretty big deal.

http://www.wral.com/news/local/story/7306330/

Quote :

"Chatham County courthouse clock tower collapses Chatham County courthouse fire Posted: 7:35 a.m. today Updated: 2 minutes ago Pittsboro, N.C. — The clock tower of the Chatham County Courthouse collapsed overnight after a fire severely damaged the building Thursday afternoon. About 15 firefighters poured water on hot spots at the still-smoking building at 12 East St. Friday morning. The clock tower fell into the building between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m., and all the floors have collapsed. "Everything is just pancaked on top of each other, which is making (the fire) hard to put out," Pittsboro Fire Chief Daryl Griffin said. The traffic circle around the courthouse has been closed, state troopers and deputies are directing traffic around roadblocks, and many other routes into town are also blocked. Downtown businesses are permitted to open, and authorities will accommodate as much business traffic as possible. Courthouse clock tower collapses after fireWATCH VIDEO Courthouse clock tower collapses after fire Firefighters will likely be looking for hot spots all day and won't get into the courthouse to assess damage until Saturday, said Griffin, who stayed at the scene all night. "We've had people bringing food, and everything, people wanting to buy breakfast and lunch and supper already," Griffin said. "The community comes together. That's what we do here in Pittsboro and Chatham County." Town and county officials planned to hold an emergency meeting at 9 a.m. Friday to discuss plans to rebuild the 129-year-old courthouse. If you have photos of video from the scene, send them to us. The fire appears to have been accidental and started in the attic, but the cause hasn't been determined, Griffin said. He emphasized that while crews with Progressive Contracting were finishing up work on the upper floors for the day, it is too early to assign blame for the fire. The State Bureau of Investigation and Chatham County fire officials are investigating. Griffin expressed concern over how far the fire had progressed before firefighters were called out. "It had a good head start on us. When we came out of the station, there were flames coming out of the roof. It could have been burning in the attic for a while," he said. Witnesses said they first saw smoke in the area around 4:15 p.m. Thursday, a judge said a fire alarm went off at 4:30 p.m., and firefighters were called out around 4:45 p.m. The intensity of the fire made it too dangerous for firefighters to go inside the building, Griffin said, and firefighters had to focus first on making sure everyone was safe before extinguishing the blaze. "We were behind the eight ball from the get-go," he said. "First of all, we had to make sure everyone was out and safe and accounted for." Chatham County court operations will be disrupted, because the fire destroyed vital equipment, including documents and computers. Copies were kept in other places. Some court sessions will likely be moved to Siler City. Phone calls to the courthouse have been transferred to Orange County. "It may take a little while. We'll be able to rebuild everything," Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall said. There's some hope that historical documents, including some from the colonial era, might have survived. The Chatham County Historical Association's document room is in a part of the second floor that didn't cave in. Residents said the worse loss is the courthouse itself, built in 1881 and listed on the National Historic Registry. "It is the heart of the community. It is the symbol of Pittsboro," local business owner Katie O'Leary said. "I see the heart of the county being cut out from it," Pittsboro Mayor Randolph Voller said. Still, Voller said, he remains hopeful that the area can rebuild. Construction on a new courthouse was already scheduled to start in the fall. "We are going to come out of this and make something better," Voller said."

3/26/2010 9:37:53 AM

3/26/2010 9:40:49 AM

/message_topic.aspx?topic=591192

[Edited on March 26, 2010 at 9:42 AM. Reason : ]

3/26/2010 9:42:40 AM

Tha Roof
Tha Roof
Tha Roof is on Fiya

3/26/2010 9:44:38 AM

search function works now apparently

3/26/2010 9:48:20 AM

thought this thread was about Chatham County Line

3/26/2010 9:49:28 AM

thought this thread was about Chatham County Line

3/26/2010 9:56:09 AM

ah, searching is for hippies.

3/26/2010 9:56:54 AM

3/26/2010 10:17:22 AM