In Phelps v. Winston-Salem, 272 N.C. 24, 157 S.E.2d 719 (1967), the plaintiffs were tenants in a building owned and operated by the City of Winston-Salem. 272 N.C. at 25, 157 S.E.2d at 720. A fire originated in the defendant's building and destroyed a substantial amount of the plaintiffs' belongings. Id. at 26, 157 S.E.2d at 720. The plaintiffs alleged the defendant had negligently allowed combustible materials to accumulate in the building and had failed to provide fire safety equipment. Id. at 26, 157 S.E.2d at 721. The fire chief and the captain in charge of the Fire Prevention Bureau both testified they were unable to determine the cause of the fire. Id. at 27, 157 S.E.2d at 721. Applying the reasoning in Maharias, our Supreme Court held that the cause of the fire was "unexplained" and stated: proof of the burning alone is not sufficient to establish liability, for if nothing more appears, the presumption is that the fire was the result of accident or some providential cause. There can be no liability without satisfactory proof, by either direct or circumstantial evidence, not only of the burning of the property in question but that it was the proximate result of negligence and did not result from natural or accidental causes. Id. at 31, 157 S.E.2d at 724. Our Supreme Court further stated that the plaintiff bears the burden to "affirmatively fix responsibility upon the defendant by the greater weight of the evidence." Id. at 28, 157 S.E.2d at 722.