Jan. 29. UPDATE 9 PM. Catawba Avenue is open after a serious residential fire injured three firefighters Monday morning. Cornelius-Lemley Fire Captain E.J. McCormick said there were as many as 40 firefighters on scene.

The call came in a 9:20 am, he said. The house, in the 21000 block of Catawba Avenue, is heavily damaged and fire marshalls were still on the scene at 1 pm. Catawba Avenue was closed for about three hours.

The most serious injury occurred when a firefighter was “disoriented, lost and running out of air,” McCormick said. A distress call was issued, and another firefighter was able to find him, give him air and get him out of the house, the captain said.

Two other injuries included a cut and a back injury. The owner of the home, Paula Wolfe, escaped injury, according to neighbors. She is a licensed massage therapist at The Peninsula Club.

Both Cornelius stations and two companies from Davidson and two from Huntersville responded.

Reports from neighbors said someone running by alerted a resident inside the home.

At 8:30 pm, Cornelius Fire Chief Neal Smith said the cause of the fire was still undetermined, but appeared to have started in the attic. The fire apparently roared—unbeknownst to anyone—through an enclosed space in the century-old home.

The fire was under control in 20 minutes.