Chatham County courthouse almost destroyed in fire

Judicial assistant Tammy Keshler noticed the black smoke around 4 p.m. Thursday — it followed the smell. Her camera was already in hand.

She had been taking pictures to document the Chatham County courthouse renovations, set for completion April 30.

The picture of smoke from the ceiling was the last she’d take inside before spending the next few hours watching the building she loved go up in flames.

“We were out standing there, and Judge (Allen) Baddour watched his office burn, and then I watched my office burn.” Keshler said. “It was just a nightmare.”

The major fire that almost destroyed the historic Chatham County courthouse Thursday didn’t hurt anyone, officials said.

But it will have repercussions for the county and its court system — among them loss of court records. District Attorney Jim Woodall said computers were destroyed, along with court files, by the combination of fire and hose water.

“I don’t even know right now which court files are missing,” Keshler said, adding that the superior court judge had papers on his desk to sign.

Keshler said that there’s an emergency plan for figuring out where to send people to work and that she expected a meeting Friday to lay out the details.

The mayor of Pittsboro, where the courthouse is centrally located within a traffic circle, also announced plans to hold an emergency meeting to determine how to move forward.

Many people suspected that renovations at the top of the building caused the fire. Keshler said there have been multiple false alarms since renovations started. But Mayor Randolph Voller said nothing is official until the Pittsboro Fire Department and State Bureau of Investigation complete their analysis.

“Someone messed up,” Voller said.

In the coming days, court workers will have to confirm who has custody of evidence and documents and how much was destroyed.

Keshler said many court files can be restored because lawyers have copies of documents.

The sex tapes from the recent hearings involving John Edwards’ mistress Rielle Hunter, for example, are safe, Keshler said.

The Chatham County courthouse was built in 1881 by a local lawyer after a roof blew off the old building. It is the fourth courthouse built in the county and was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.

The scaffolding that surrounded the building during renovation acted like a chimney for the fire, Keshler said.

“Out of tragedy, we’re going to rebuild,” Voller said.



Staff writer Phong Dinh contributed reporting.

Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.