A home located at 601 Enoch Road was heavily damaged by an electrical fire Tuesday evening 02-December. The incident was reported at 17:40 when the family smelled smoke in the home. Upon investigating the smell, they found smoke at the ceiling level of the master bedroom and called 9-1-1.
Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Engine 31 arrived minutes later to find heavy smoke conditions and flames visible from a window at the front of the residence. Firefighters deployed multiple handlines and entered the structure through the front door. They encountered heavy fire conditions and issued a second alarm.
Firefighters knocked down the fire in the living area from the front hallway, but had problems reaching the fire in the attic. The older wood frame home had several additions, with layers of sheet rock over tongue and groove as well as two roof additions covered with metal. Approximately 25 minutes passed before the fire was brought under control, however overhaul took several hours.
The family was able to safely exit the building. Investigators determined the fire originated near an electrical junction box in the attic over the master bedroom. Fire-Rescue responded to the same residence two weeks earlier for a similar incident with a shorted electrical box over one of the additions near the rear of the home. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Engine 4, Engine 10, Engine 18, Engine 31, Tender 1, Tender 4, Tender 13, Tender 15, Tender 26, Tender 27, Tender 29, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 12, and Car 107 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as incident commander.
Photos by Harold Buzzell
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A home and detached garage at 505 Meeting House Lane were destroyed in an afternoon fire Monday 01-December. At 12:53, Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue was notified of a possible electrical fire at this location. Engine 36 arrived 9 minutes later to the rural dirt road and found the one-story, wood-frame dwelling and a detached garage well involved. Firefighters deployed one 2-1/2 handline and two 1-3/4 handlines to combat the fire.
The home contained a large fire load contributing to the intense flames. The fire also spread across the yard approximately 50 feet to a two-story barn, but firefighters were able to stop the flames before they damaged the barn. The home was located near the end of Meeting House Lane on a private dirt section along the Edisto River. The narrow overgrown road presented access problems for fire apparatus. Engine 36 made a 550 feet lay of 3-inch line from the intersection of Pocket Lane down to the residence. Engine 9 supplied Engine 36 from a water shuttle operation. Tenders staged on the paved portion of Meeting House Lane. The home and garage were a complete loss. A van near the house was also damaged.
The homeowner noted that she was operating a pottery kiln at the rear of the residence. A short time later she heard crackling noises and found the rear of the home on fire. The flames quickly spread throughout the residence and to the detached garage. Firefighter-Paramedics were on the scene for four and half hours. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the woman.
Engine 9, Engine 36, Tender 5, Tender 9, Tender 11, Tender 19, Tender 27, Tender 32, Medic 9, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Ben Heape served as incident commander.
Photos by Harold Buzzell
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A Ruffin South Carolina family of seven, narrowly escaped an early morning house fire at 90 Blaine Court Friday 02-Janaury. At 02:54, 9-1-1 received the first report of the fire. The adult female advised one of the children in the home awakened her noting the house was on fire. She immediately discovered smoke in the residence and found a fire in the wall behind a television set in a small bedroom. She got everyone out of the house, went across the street to a neighbor’s home and called 9-1-1. Colleton County (SC) Engine 18 arrived minutes later to find the singlewide mobile home well involved. Firefighter-Paramedics deployed multiple handlines to extinguish the fire. They had the bulk of the flames knocked down within 15 minutes, but were on the scene performing overhaul for a little over two and half hours. The home was gutted and the family lost everything inside.
Fire-Rescue Medic 18 transported the woman and an 11 month old female to Colleton Medical Center. Firefighter-Paramedics treated them for smoke inhalation. The other four children and an adult male who was also in the residence were not injured and did not require medical attention. The home did not have smoke detectors. Fire investigators determined the fire started in an electrical outlet in one of the bedrooms. It rapidly spread through the singlewide mobile home from there. Water supply was provided with a tender shuttle. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Engine 18, Engine 26, Tender 4, Tender 13, Tender 18, Tender 26, Tender 27, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 117 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as incident commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
Two homes were damaged and one workshop destroyed in an early morning fire that started at 160 Boone Street in the Country Estates Subdivision south of the City of Walterboro (SC) Tuesday morning 26-August. At 01:45, 9-1-1 operators began receiving reports of the fire in a workshop and a home located behind the workshop. Colleton County Fire-Rescue Car 118 arrived to find the 20×40 block work shop fully-involved and a single-story residential dwelling approximately 30% involved.
Engine 1 was directed to a position on Capers Street behind the workshop. Multiple handlines and a deck gun were used in an attempt to extinguish the rapidly spreading fire in the Capers Street home. It appeared the fire originated in the workshop and spread to piles of lumber and wood in the yard. The residence at 189 Capers Street was located approximately 20 feet from the workshop on the lot next door and the fire spread to the attached garage, then extended into the attic. Neighbors had awaken the family at the Capers Street home. An adult male and two teenagers were able to safely exit the house.
A second alarm was requested six minutes after the first fire units arrived, with a third alarm five minutes later. The home on Capers Street had security bars on all of the windows. Firefighters had to remove the bars with a K-12 saw before it was safe to enter the structure. The fire quickly spread through the attic and within seven minutes after arrival was extending from the eaves on all sides of the home. The main house at 160 Boone Street also suffered heat damage to the rear of the house and most items in the back yard were destroyed. A pickup truck parked next to the workshop was also destroyed.
Firefighter-Paramedics worked diligently to contain the Capers Street fire, while other crewmembers protected the exposures on Boone Street and worked to extinguish the workshop fire. A tender shuttle was established for water supply, due to the majority of the subdivision being an unhydranted area.
It took approximately 50 minutes to bring the fires under control. The Capers Street home lost most of the roof and the majority of the fire was contained to the attic, however the remainder of the home suffered heavy damage from drop down fire and water. Many personal items were salvaged. The workshop and pickup truck on Boone Street were completely destroyed, as were several pieces of equipment in the yard. The Boone Street home also suffered heat and fire damage to the back of the house. The fire appeared to have started in or near the electrical panel in the workshop. Fire units were on the scene for over five hours. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross was contacted to assist the family. No injuries were reported.
Engine 1, Engine 4, Engine 5, Engine 17, Engine 19, Engine 24, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 6, Tender 9, Tender 13, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Medic 1, Medic 6, Medic 9, Medic, Medic 26, Rescue 1, Battalion 1, Car 12, Car 105, Car 107 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Dan Barb and Captain Gary Nahrstedt operated the Command Post.
A yard debris fire spread to a home at 510 Bee Street west of Walterboro (SC) Thursday afternoon, 27-February. At 15:54, Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue was notified that the fire had burned under the residence and the home was full of smoke. Engine 24 arrived six minutes later to find heavy smoke coming from the singlewide mobile home and flames under the full length of the building extending up the walls in several places.
Barry McRoy photo
Barry McRoy photo
Firefighters deployed two 1-3/4 handlines with one crew working the front of the home and the other extinguishing flames at the rear. After five minutes, most of the exterior flames were extinguished, but the fire had burned into the walls along the back of the mobile home and in several places along the front. Firefighters removed the exterior metal siding and pulled up the floor in multiple rooms to reach the remaining flames.
Barry McRoy photo
Barry McRoy photo
A great deal of personal items were salvaged, but the home suffered heavy damage. The fire was caused by a few leaf piles that were burning in the yard. Light winds of 10 mph spread the fire through the yard until it burned underneath the mobile home. The fire then spread to the structure. All occupants safely exited the building. Water supply was conducted with tenders. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Barry McRoy photo
Engine 19, Engine 24, Engine 27, Tender 1, Tender 19, Tender 27, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Scott Feather served as Incident Commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
