Outer Banks furniture warehouse destroyed in ‘significant fire’

Corinne Saunders, The Virginian-Pilot
Updated ·2 min read

MANNS HARBOR — A “significant fire” took place Tuesday in Manns Harbor at a furniture warehouse, and firefighters from three counties responded, Dare County Emergency Management Director Drew Pearson said.

Every firefighting agency in Dare County had been asked to respond, and units also responded from the neighboring counties of Currituck and Tyrrell, according to Pearson.

The fire fully engulfed Manteo Furniture & Appliance Manns Harbor Warehouse, he said.

Officials were getting “a large command established to put out the fire and protect the structures around it,” Pearson said at the time. “It’s an industrial area, so there are fuel tanks.”

The warehouse shares a building with Valentino Custom Boats, Pearson said.

The Town of Nags Head sent at least one firetruck to the Manns Harbor fire, and town staffers saw “the whole rest of the beach going by” with their units to respond, spokesperson Roberta Thuman said around 4:20 p.m.

The cause of the fire and the time it began remain unknown at this time, but no injuries were reported.

“Fire destroyed our Manns Harbor warehouse today, but fortunately [there were] no injuries to employees, neighbors and firefighters,” Ken Daniels, Manteo Furniture & Appliance’s owner, wrote in a public Facebook post around 8 p.m.

The warehouse “was only part of our operation where we stored upholstery and casegoods,” Daniels continued. “Appliances and bedding are kept in another warehouse.”

Daniels said the company will open for “business as usual tomorrow,” deliveries will continue as scheduled and the business will restock furniture as soon as possible.

Daniels thanked the firefighters, who came “from every department in Dare County, Tyrell County and even some from Currituck County. They had a difficult time battling without municipal water. (Water would unlikely make a difference in the outcome, but would have made their job easier.)”

He also thanked Emergency Medical Services, Emergency Management and “everyone who reached out with their support” in the post.

Citizens began posting about the fire on social media around 4 p.m., noting significant numbers of firetrucks with sirens on driving by.

Crystal Maqueda, a Manns Harbor resident who lives across from the Manns Harbor Fire Department, said the call came in around 3:20 p.m. When the station’s fire alarm went off, she turned on her scanner and heard it, she said.