Tag: Wilson’s Mills fire department

A father and his adult son died in their burning home in Johnston County early Christmas morning, authorities said.

Both men were disabled, which made it difficult to escape the home on Red Oak Drive. A third resident was able to get out, authorities said.

Neighbors told The News & Observer the men are John Jones and his son Scott. They said Scott was in his 50s and had cerebral palsy, which confined him to a wheelchair They said his father had diabetes, which had left him blind. They said John’s wife suffered minor burns and smoke inhalation as she tried to help the men get out.

Investigators are still trying to determine what caused the Thursday morning fire, which gutted the single-story house.

Someone called 911 to report the fire at 5:07 a.m. A truck and crew from the Wilson’s Mills Fire & Rescue station on Cleveland Road, about a mile away, was there within minutes, according to fire Chief Jason Moore.

When they arrived, flames were visible from the front of the house and were spreading to the roof, Moore said. Firefighters learned someone may be trapped inside, he said, and pushed in through the front door.

About 10 feet inside the living room they found one of the two men dead on the floor, Moore said. By then, most of the house was in flames and the roof was beginning to fall in, he said. So firefighters retreated outside.

They then learned that a second person was still inside. When they determined it was safe to go back in, firefighters again went through the front door, Moore said. After about 10 minutes, they found the second man dead on the floor of a hallway, about eight from where they found the first one, he said.

Moore said the third resident of the home spent some time in an ambulance but declined to be taken to a hospital. She is receiving help from the American Red Cross.

It took firefighters about 30 minutes to bring the fire under control, Moore said. The house was cluttered with debris, and firefighters spent another hour or so making sure none of it was still burning.

“It’s going to continue to smolder the next day or so,” Moore said.

He said about two dozen firefighters and five EMS personnel responded to the fire. The Wilson’s Mills department had help from neighboring departments in Cleveland, Four Oaks, Selma and Smithfield.

This story was originally published December 25, 2025 at 1:25 PM.