GRANITE FALLS, NC (July 22, 2017)…Kevin Brown, Caldwell County Fire Marshal, met with the owner of the old Shuford Mills Plant this afternoon to determine all the contents of the plant. The owner is Mike Granger. There is no estimate of total damage at this point.
There were three (3) apartments in the plant that are now destroyed. Living in those apartments were:
a. Mike Granger, his wife and child
b. Andy Lee
c. Butch Drum
There were five (5) businesses in the building:
a. Butch’s Socks – internet business operated by Butch Drum
b. Smith Thread Sales
c. Foothills Community Workshop
d. Harper Art Studio
e. A Leather Upholstery/storage business
There were 250 storage units in the plant, all rented out. It is not known the cost damage estimate of the contents of those units.
The warehouse sits on a 19 acre property and the plant was 75,729 square feet. Firefighters were able to save five buildings that surround the warehouse.
Firefighters continue to monitor the still burning interior and residents are seeing smoke and hearing explosions from inside the shell. That could continue into the next week as investigators wait until the interior burns itself out.