Chartwell, a massive home on 31 acres off Avinger Lane in Davidson, is up for sale. Completed in 1992, the house is one of the largest to come on the Lake Norman area market recently, and experts say it could sell to a single owner or to a developer who might subdivide the property for more homes. See a story and photos of the house in REAL ESTATE & HOME»

Firefighters responded to several smoke scares and utilities emergencies over the past two weeks, including one at the Davidson Public Library on Tuesday morning. A passerby noticed that an outside electrical outlet was sparking next to the library’s front steps and notified a police officer. Firefighters were able to shut down power to the outlet. Two electrical incidents the week before included a short-circuiting HVAC system in the Turner Eating House at Davidson College, which caused the building to fill with smoke, and an overheated light ballast at The Pines at Davidson. Unintentional fire alarm activations and malfunctioning carbon monoxide alarms rounded out the remainder of the fire calls. Also below, find a tally of recent medical calls.

FIRE REPORTS

SATURDAY, FEB. 9, 5:27 p.m., 103 Martin Court Drive, Davis Dormitory, Davidson College – Engine 1, Ladder 1, and Rescue 14 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that steam from a shower had triggered a smoke detector. Firefighters reset the alarm system.

SUNDAY, FEB. 10, 2:22 a.m., 103 Dormitory Drive, Little Dormitory, Davidson College – Engine 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that a pull station had been activated on the first floor. Davidson College Campus Police were on the scene, and eyewitnesses told police officers the name of a student who allegedly maliciously pulled the alarm. Firefighters reset the alarm system and left the responsibility of disciplining the student with campus police officers.

MONDAY, FEB. 11, 2:14 p.m., 21126 Catawba Ave., Cornelius Elementary School – Engine 1 stood by a nearby hydrant while Cornelius firefighters investigated a fire alarm activation.

MONDAY, FEB. 11, 4:58 p.m., 408 Ridge Road, Davidson College Apartments – Engine 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that smoke from cooking on a stove triggered a smoke detector. Firefighters reset the alarm system after ensuring that no hazards were present.

TUESDAY, FEB. 12, 12:57 p.m., 9225 Westmoreland Road, Uncle Bob’s Self Storage, Cornelius – Engine 1 was released by the Cornelius incident commander soon after arriving on the scene of a commercial fire alarm activation.

TUESDAY, FEB. 12, 10:17 p.m., 807 Jetton St. – Engine 1 investigated a carbon monoxide alarm activation and determined that the resident’s CO detector had malfunctioned due to its age. Firefighters inspected the house thoroughly with a gas meter and found no evidence of any hazards.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 13, 1:37 p.m., 610 Jetton St., Davidson Commons shopping center – Engine 3 investigated a fire alarm activation and found no hazards. Firefighters reset the alarm system and alerted a Mecklenburg County fire marshal that one business had not evacuated their patrons upon hearing the fire alarm.

THURSDAY, FEB. 14, 8:40 a.m., 119 Patterson Court Circle, Turner Eating House – Engine 3, Engine 2, and Ladder 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found a burning odor with moderate smoke conditions inside. The incident commander upgraded the call to a structure fire and Cornelius Engine 4 established a water supply by hooking to a nearby fire hydrant. Firefighters found that a short circuit in the wiring of an HVAC fan had caused the building to fill with smoke. Emergency personnel shut down the HVAC system, cleared the building of smoke, and reset the alarm system. The Davidson College Physical Plant stated that they would fix the HVAC system.

THURSDAY, FEB. 14, 10:20 a.m., Lake Norman YMCA, 21300 Davidson St., Cornelius – Engine 3 stood by a nearby hydrant while Cornelius firefighters investigated an accidental fire alarm activation.

THURSDAY, FEB. 14, 7:17 p.m., 400 Avinger Lane, The Pines at Davidson – Engine 3 and Ladder 1 investigated a smell of smoke in the health care unit of The Pines. Firefighters noted a faint smell of smoke and found that a light ballast had overheated. Emergency personnel disconnected the light ballast and found no other hazards.

THURSDAY, FEB. 14, 8:03 p.m., 11410 Lauren Lane, Cornelius – Engine 3 and Ladder 1 stood by a nearby hydrant while Cornelius firefighters investigated a report of smoke inside of a residence.

THURSDAY, FEB. 14, 10:50 p.m., 215 South Main Street, Baybridge Medical – Engine 3 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that a combination burglar/fire alarm had accidentally been triggered. Firefighters cleared the scene after ensuring that no hazards were present.

FRIDAY, FEB. 15, 1:20 p.m., 200 D Road, Chambers Building, Davidson College – Engine 3 responded to a report of an elevator entrapment but arrived to find all of the elevators in working order with no one inside.

SATURDAY, FEB. 16, 4:19 p.m., 218 O Henry Avenue, St. Alban’s neighborhood – Engine 1 investigated a carbon monoxide alarm activation and found no hazards after thoroughly inspecting the residence with a gas meter.

MONDAY, FEB. 18, 11:11 a.m., 404 Armour St. – Engine 3 and Ladder 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that a smoke detector had been triggered by construction dust.

TUESDAY, FEB. 19, 10:15 a.m., Griffith Street at Jetton Street traffic circle – Engine 2 and Engine 3 assisted Davidson police officers with removing a large amount of broken glass from the roadway. Firefighters shoveled and swept the glass away from the road.

TUESDAY, FEB. 19, 10:53 a.m., 20051 Verlaine Drive – Engine 3 and Ladder 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that the alarm had been triggered accidentally while changing some batteries in the alarm system.

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 20, 6:31 p.m., 200 Baker Drive, Baker Sports Complex, Davidson College – Rescue 14 provided a medical standby for the Davidson College men’s basketball game versus the Furman Paladins.

FRIDAY, FEB. 22, 2:58 p.m., 555 Delburg St. – Engine 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that the homeowner had accidentally set off the alarm system.

SATURDAY, FEB. 23, 1:58 p.m., 200 Baker Drive, Baker Sports Complex, Davidson College – Rescue 14 provided a medical standby for the Davidson College men’s basketball game versus Montana.

 SUNDAY, FEB. 24, 10:36 a.m., Homewood Suites, 125 Harbour Place Drive – Engine 1 and Ladder 1 investigated a fire alarm activation and found that lint from a clothes dryer in the laundry room had triggered a smoke detector. No hazards were present.

MONDAY, FEB. 25, 1:39 a.m., 18929 Elm Row Court, River Run – Engine 1 investigated a carbon monoxide alarm activation and found that a CO detector had malfunctioned after thoroughly inspecting the residence with a gas meter. Firefighters advised the family to replace the malfunctioning CO detector as soon as possible.

TUESDAY, FEB. 26, 9:09 a.m., 119 S. Main St., Davidson Public Library – Engine 1 investigated a report of an electrical hazard after a citizen noticed an outside electrical outlet was sparking on the steps of the library. Firefighters shut off power to the electrical outlet and advised library personnel to contact Mecklenburg County maintenance personnel to inspect the wiring.

MEDICAL CALLS: FEB. 8-26

Following are the medical calls that the Davidson Fire Department responded to last week. The release of addresses and other details related to these calls has been restricted in order to ensure patients’ privacy.

• Abdominal pain: 1
• Allergies: 1
• Assault: 1
• Breathing problem: 3
• Chest pain: 4
• Choking: 1
• Convulsions/Seizure: 2
• Fall victim: 7
• Heart problems: 2
• Hemorrhage/Laceration: 1
• Ingestion/Poisoning: 2
• Lifting assistance: 1
• Psychiatric problem: 1
• Sick person: 3
• Stroke/CVA: 2
• Traffic accident: 5
• Unconscious/Fainting: 3

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An Asplundh worker moves pruned limbs at a home along Concord Road Thursday. (David Boraks/DavidsonNews.net)

Tree-pruning crews working for Duke Energy are making their way around Davidson this month, trimming trees near the electric company’s poles and overhead lines.

A crew of about a dozen workers from Asplundh Tree Expert Co. was trimming branches along Concord Road Thursday, between Thompson Street and Pine Road. Read the full story

Firefighters responded to several incidents related to the cooling weather over the past two weeks, including two involving gas fireplaces, and one outside fire that damaged a heat pump. Dust from construction was blamed for a fire alarm at The Community School of Davidson High School, and three trapped passengers were freed from a malfunctioning elevator in the Davidson College student union. Details on these stories and more (along with a tally of the past two weeks’ medical calls) may be found below. Read the full story

Police are continuing their investigation of another string of car break-ins, as well as two stolen cars, this week. In an unrelated case, a driver on North Main Street was arrested during a traffic stop for possession of a stolen vehicle, speeding, and driving while license revoked. Also this week, a Davidson College professor is looking for his 1976 Raleigh Competition GS bicycle that was stolen from a bike rack at the Davidson College Chambers Building. A picture and more details may be found below, as well as a tally of the week’s arrests, citations, and traffic enforcement. Read the full story

Police are investigating a number of thefts this week, including several cases where construction materials were targeted. In one instance, $500 worth of copper wire was stolen from a trailer on Shearer Road. Meanwhile, Davidson seniors reported cases of fraud this week. In one case, an unknown suspect used a victim’s debit card to make a $104 purchase without her permission. In another case, a construction contractor failed to complete agreed-upon work after obtaining a $10,000 advance from a resident. Also, police issued a warning after a series of auto break-ins near downtown Davidson – most involving unlocked cars.  Details below on these stories and more (along with a tally of the week’s arrests, citations, and traffic enforcement). Read the full story

Davidson Police are investigating several break-ins this week, including the Aug. 15 daylight theft of $5,000 in jewelry, camera equipment and collectibles from a house on Evening Primrose Drive, off Davidson-Concord Road. Almost $7,000 worth of firearms were stolen the same morning from a home on Davidson-Concord Road. And almost $3,000 worth of clothes, power tools, and household appliances were stolen from a moving truck as a new family moved to Davidson from Las Vegas.

Also this week, a Davidson woman reported receiving harassing phone calls from two known suspects, and a Shearer Street resident reported a case of financial transaction fraud in which a known suspect obtained $1,930 from the victim under false pretenses.

Details on these stories and more (along with a tally of the week’s arrests, citations, and traffic enforcement) may be found below. Read the full story

Davidson firefighters investigated several reports of smoke this week, including one at The Pines at Davidson in which a light haze of smoke was found coming from an electrical room. A malfunctioning alarm at Davidson Cornelius Child Development Center on Gamble Street also put firefighters on the road three times last Friday, and fire officials said the system would need to be serviced before children returned on Monday. Details on these stories and more (along with a tally of the week’s medical calls) may be found below. Read the full story