Overview
- Officials completed the review on February 20, 2026, concluding the December 28, 2025 fire in Stanley, North Carolina was accidental.
- Investigators could not determine the heat source or the first material ignited because of severe interior damage.
- The two-story home on Blacksnake Road was declared a total loss with an estimated $776,000 in damage.
- Dennis Hamlin, 75, died from smoke inhalation, and Mary Lou Hamlin, 69, survived with critical burns and remains in rehabilitation.
- Firefighters relied on tanker trucks with no nearby hydrants and needed nearly two hours to control the blaze, and some reports cite a bedroom origin that conflicts with the official undetermined finding.