ASHEVILLE – Asheville Fire Department said it is investigating a fire that engulfed a Western North Carolina housing organizer’s car while she was canvassing at an East Asheville apartment complex Oct. 11.
North Carolina Tenant’s Union staff organizer Jen Hampton and two other housing organizers canvassed at the Evergreen Ridge Apartments near the Charles George Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in the early afternoon of Oct. 11. When they left the apartments, they found Hampton’s 2013 Ford Explorer surrounded by police officers and a fire truck. The vehicle had been destroyed by a fire that burned so hot near the vehicle’s engine block that the car’s hood and metal components had seemingly melted.
Hampton said tensions were high at Evergreen Ridge, an apartment complex that was originally built as a hospital for the U.S. Office of Veteran’s Affairs in 1927. Organizers had been invited by a group of residents to talk about their concerns at the complex in August, she said, but not everyone had been positive about their presence when they first canvassed the property in late September. Recent national events made her fear that the fire could’ve been an act of political violence, she said.
“We only know the circumstances leading up to it and it seems to me highly unlikely that my car would decide to burst into flames when I haven’t had any issues with it,” Hampton said. She recently had the car inspected, she added.
“The temperature in our society right now is at a boiling point,” Hampton said. The North Carolina Tenants Union is a statewide network of six unions run by tenants to advocate for renters rights and fair housing. It was formed in April 2024.
Hampton was recognized as a 2025 USA Today Women of the Year for her advocacy for the region’s tenants and low-income residents in the wake of Tropical Storm Helene. Over the past several years, Hampton has been active in helping residents navigate and fight eviction proceedings, calling for increased living wages for workers and helping restaurant workers form unions through Asheville Food and Beverage United, a worker-led trade union for service workers.
“The incident is an open investigation, and the cause is undetermined at this time,” Asheville Fire Department spokesperson John Harbin told the Citizen Times Oct. 13. Asheville Police Department spokesperson Rick Rice told the Citizen Times that the agency is “not currently” investigating the incident. The Citizen Times reached out to Evergreen Ridge Apartments and its management company for comment.
Hampton said she is planning on returning to her organizing work and called for a full investigation into the fire.
“If anything, I feel even more fired up and determined than ever,” Hampton said.
This story will be updated.
Will Hofmann is the Growth and Development Reporter for the Asheville Citizen Times, part of the USA Today Network. Got a tip? Email him at WHofmann@citizentimes.com. Consider supporting this type of journalism with a subscription to the Citizen Times.

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