Cindy Burnham
Beauty shop death
The intersection of Happy Hill and Turkey Branch roads near Fairmont is blocked by responders Monday, August 24, 2015
Posted: Monday, August 24, 2015
By Paige Rentz and Nancy McCleary
FAIRMONT, NC
One person is dead in Robeson County and four others have been treated today for exposure to an unknown chemical.
Patricia Dawn Hill was found dead at the beauty shop she ran behind her home at 1697 Happy Hill Road near Fairmont, said Maj. Anthony Thompson of the Robeson County Sheriff’s Office.
Deputies responded to a call at 9:12 a.m. There was no confirmation if there had been a fire or explosion involved with chemicals.
The Sheriff’s Office did not say when Hill’s death occurred or how it happened. They also did not have information on any suspect or suspects.
The Regional Hazardous Materials team in Fayetteville was called to the scene because of a strong odor, Thompson said.
The scene had been cleared by 6 p.m. The investigation, Thompson said, was only just beginning once the HAZMAT team completed its work late in the afternoon.
Three sheriff’s officials and one civilian, none of whom was injured, were sent to Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton out of precaution, Thompson said. A spokeswoman for Southeastern Regional Medical Center in Lumberton said people were brought to the hospital and decontaminated.
The chemical is believed to have been used in a home beauty salon, the spokeswoman said.
Neighbors in this Eastside Park community said they noticed activity picking up about 10 a.m.
Fairmont police and firemen secured the area throughout the day, disrupting afternoon bus routes. At the corner of Turkey Branch and Happy Hill roads, not far from Oak Grove Baptist Church, nearby neighbors said Hill was a widow in her 70s who operated a beauty shop in a separate structure behind her home.
Happy Hill Road is a tree-lined country road. The area is rural. The houses are scattered and there are soybean fields in the area.
The site is a home near Old Stage Road, according to Robeson County tax records.