CHARLOTTE, N.C. – A Christmas tree was stolen from a local fire station Thursday morning while firefighters were battling an apartment fire that displaced 26 people a week before Christmas.
According to officials, the fire started in a storage shed attached to a unit at the Country Club Apartments on Dunlavin Way just after 11:30 p.m. Wednesday night.
Firefighters fought the fire, which they say caused about $250,000 in damage, for over an hour. They also stayed at the scene overnight to make sure the fire was completely out.
No one was hurt in the fire, but officials say the Red Cross is now helping 26 people find a place to stay.
Firefighters from Station 23 said that someone stole the Christmas tree from in front of their station on East W.T. Harris Boulevard while they were responding to the blaze.
The firefighters said it has been a tradition for years for the crew to buy the tree with their own money, decorate it, and place it outside the station.
