By Monica Chen

mchen@heraldsun.com; 419-6636

DURHAM -- An early morning fire that destroyed two townhomes Monday may have been caused by a grill that was left on the back deck, according to fire officials.

Durham firefighters responded to a call at Heritage Woods in southern Durham around 3 a.m.

When firefighters arrived, Battalion 3 Chief Thelbert Reams said, the fire was "through the roof."

The two townhomes, at 106 and 107 Maple Lane, were pronounced a complete loss.

Reams said the fire possibly began at the back of 106 Maple Lane, the home of three Duke University students, from a grill that was in use Sunday afternoon.

The fire then spread to 107 Maple Lane, where a young couple with an infant lived. An adjacent property, 108 Maple Lane, also received some smoke damage.

Luckily, no one was hurt, Reams said.

There are typically more fire calls in the winter than in the summer, but this was an unusual situation, Reams said.

"In condos and apartment complexes like that, you're not supposed to burn a grill on your deck anyway," he said. "Normally, in the winter time, we have a few more calls due to people with fireplaces. But this situation, we haven't had this in a while."

The lesson to take away from this incident was, Reams added: "Don't grill on your deck."