GRAHAM, N.C. — People who live near the former Culp Weaving Mill had to evacuate Sunday night out of precaution as mill walls caved in from a fire.
The Guiterrez family lives nearby. Pieces of debris traveled across the street and onto their property as the old mill burned.
"We heard this big boom and saw the building collapse and the fire shot out and that's when we all got worried," recalled Mirella Gutierrez.
As they gathered their things, they noticed officers going door to door telling neighbors to evacuate. Thankfully they were able to spend the night at their church.
"We couldn't get any sleep. We were just thinking about, we're over here what if we come back to a burnt down house," worried Gutierrez.
Others who live in the neighborhood went to the Graham Recreation Center for shelter.
Reid Allison was at the center this morning. He was stopping by to tell an evacuee she could return home.
"I came on down there to the gym a while to work out and you could still see the smoke across the street," Allison continued, " I was wanting to make a special trip up here to tell that lady her house was back in power."
Nearly a year ago, it was a similar scene over in Rockingham County when Spray Cotton Mill caught on fire.
While mills across the Triad hold memories for many, fire officials say it's important these old buildings are either up to code or torn down.
"You also got to look at risk vs. reward. You take this building that's not occupied or say just being used for storage. No bodies in it, is it really worth risking a firefighter's life to go into something that you know you're not going to save to begin with?" explained Eden Fire Chief, Chris White.
This isn't the first time the Culp Mill has caught fire.
The Guiterrez family, along with other people in the area say they want it to be torn down.
Graham's mayor said the city is encouraging the mills owners to bring it up to compliance or sell.