A fire earlier this month at the Katie S. Cashion Center in downtown Greensboro has left several Guilford County departments displaced and has triggered a recovery effort that’s now pegged at $1 million.
At the Board of Commissioners’ Thursday, July 17 meeting, Commissioner Alan Perdue – the county’s former longtime Emergency Services director – used the fire to discuss the need to add and upgrade fire suppression systems and to take other safety measures in the county’s buildings.
After the meeting, brand new Guilford County Manager Victor Isler told the Rhino Times that it had been quite a task moving the Family Justice Center operations to space in the Guilford County Courthouse in downtown Greensboro, but that he had been very pleased at the speed and efficiency with which those services got up and running again.
In October of last year, Guilford County gave Commissioner Kay Cashion the honor of naming the building after her since she was instrumental in getting the Family Justice Center established. Cashion was surprised when she was brought to the building one afternoon and a large group of well-wishers was there for the dedication ceremony.
At the commissioner’s July 17 meeting, it was humorous that the commissioners kept referring to the structured as “Kay Cashion’s building” even though Cashion does not in fact own the downtown property.
The fire, which broke out on the third floor of the building at 201 S. Greene Street on Sunday, July 6, caused extensive smoke and soot damage which spread through the HVAC system and infiltrated multiple county offices. According to county documents, the fire created health and safety risks serious enough to shut the building down completely, forcing out critical departments like Human Resources, Finance, and Family Justice.
County staff say the contamination required immediate environmental cleaning to prevent further damage to the building and to safeguard sensitive equipment and records. The soot posed both structural and health hazards, and the damage extended far beyond the site of the original flames. Some county officials say the mass of smoke that travelled through the building is one factor that made the damage extensive.
Using emergency authority, the county initially approved a $200,000 contract with Sasser Restoration to begin stabilization and cleanup. But as the scope of the remediation grew, so did the price.
On Thursday, July 17, county commissioners reviewed an amendment to that contract bringing the total to $1 million. The bulk of that – $800,000 – will be used to cover the remaining cleanup and demolition services needed before repairs and staff reentry can begin.
According to the addendum to the agenda at the board’s only July meeting, the fire caused “exigent hazards” that required immediate response. The county used an emergency exemption in state law to bypass the usual competitive bidding process. That legal provision allows contracts to be awarded directly when public health or property is threatened and when time is of the essence.
The building, which houses numerous internal service departments, plays a behind-the-scenes but critical role in day-to-day county operations. Payroll, purchasing, insurance, and hiring systems all flow through offices inside the Cashion Center. When those departments had to shut down or shift to alternate locations, ripple effects were felt throughout county government.
Though not open to the public in the same way as the courthouse or tax offices, the Cashion Building’s closure has forced several functions online or into temporary quarters, and county leaders say it’s unclear how long the disruption will last.
The Guilford Cunty Family Justice Center, which serves victims of domestic violence, elder abuse, and other trauma, is one of the few offices in the building with significant direct contact with the public. It’s not yet known where those services have been relocated in the meantime.
The decision to amend the contract and fully fund the cleanup passed without significant debate. County staff emphasized the urgency of preventing further deterioration and restoring essential government operations as soon as possible.
The incident has also sparked discussion about disaster preparedness and whether buildings like the Cashion Center have the appropriate fire detection and suppression systems in place. No injuries were reported in the July 6 fire, and county officials say the situation could have been much worse if the fire had occurred during regular business hours.
As of now, there’s no firm timeline for when county employees will return to their offices at 201 S. Greene Street, and no official word on what caused the fire in the first place. The $1 million price tag covers only the cleanup and demolition phase—repairs and renovations will be handled separately and could push the total higher in the coming months.
The county is funding the current contract through its Internal Service Fund. No additional tax increase is anticipated, though the timing of the fire—just weeks after the new budget was adopted – has left little room for maneuvering.
