A vacant residence in the 4000 block of Wiggins Road was destroyed in an evening fire Wednesday 17-December. The initial call was received at 17:07. Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Engine 6 arrived to find the single-story, wood-frame structure approximately 70% involved. The home is located in a remote rural area. Firefighter-Paramedics deployed multiple handlines to combat the fire.
The flames extended into a wooded area adjacent to the home and a tractor was requested from the Forestry Commission. Firefighters knocked down the heavy flames within 25 minutes, but were on the scene for 4 hours performing overhaul. Water supply was conducted with a tender shuttle. The Forestry Commission plowed a fire line around the property to contain the woods fire. The home had no power connected and the fire was apparently intentionally set. Fire investigators and the Sheriff’s Office are investigating the incident.
Engine 6, Engine 13, Tender 6, Tender 13, Tender 22, Tender 25, Medic 6, Medic 13, Battalion 1. and Car 107 responded. Asst. Chief Marty Stallings served as the incident commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A Round O Community family lost their home to an early morning fire Thursday 13-November. 9-1-1 received the first reports of the fire at 02:26, when a caller reported heavy flames from a doublewide mobile home. Sheriff’s deputies were the first to arrive and they reported the home had already collapsed. Colleton County (SC) Fire-Rescue Engine 9 arrived seven minutes later to find the fully involved dwelling with the roof already burned away. Firefighters initially used a deck gun to knock down the flames, then deployed two 1-3/4 hand lines to extinguish the remaining fire. They spent approx. 30 minutes working the fire and another 1-1/2 hours performing overhaul. The doublewide mobile home was destroyed and most personal items were lost. The fire is believed to have originated on the rear wall in an extension cord under a sofa. Two adults and three children were displaced. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the family.
Engine 9, Engine 19, Tender 2, Tender 5, Tender 9, Tender 19, Tender 36, Medic 9, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 12 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Scott Feather served as Incident Commander.
Incident # 14-06216 – At 20:30, a Ruffin (SC) man narrowly escaped his burning home Wednesday evening 22-October after he was awakened by the heat and smoke inside his residence. He attempted to extinguish the fire which he stated was above the stove before he was driven from the home. The man ran to a neighbor’s house to call 9-1-1. The caller advised she could see flames through the woods at 1627 Deliverance Road.
Colleton County Fire-Rescue Engine 18 arrived minutes later to find the cinderblock single-family dwelling over 50% involved. Firefighters used a deck gun in an attempt to stop the flames before deploying multiple handlines. The fire quickly spread to the remaining structure. Crews worked for thirty five minutes to bring the fire under control, but were on the scene for three and half hours. The house was destroyed. A tender shuttle was established to supply water for the firefighting effort. No injuries were reported in the incident. The Charleston Chapter of the American Red Cross is assisting the man who lost most of his belongings in the fire.
Engine 10, Engine 15, Engine 18, Engine 31, Tender 4, Tender 7, Tender 15, Tender 18, Tender 26, Medic 18, Battalion 1 and Car 12 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton 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 morning fire in a residence caused heavy damage to the structure Sunday morning 29-June at 07:46. Car 118 arrived to find heavy smoke conditions from the singlewide mobile home located at 65 Stormy Lane just off of Bells Hwy. west of Walterboro.
Colleton County (SC) Firefighter-Paramedics deployed one 1-3/4 handline to the front door. They were met with high heat conditions and zero visibility. Neighbors indicated the man who lived in the mobile home was more than likely in the building. Crews made a quick search to the north end of the building and the living room. They were briefly driven out of the building as the fire from the middle bedroom flashed into the living room and vented from a front window.
A quick exterior attack knocked down the flames so firefighters could reenter the building. The small building was ventilated and crews finished extinguishing the flames, so they could search the remainder of the structure. No occupants were found inside the building. The occupant eventually walked back to his house, so he was accounted for and not injured.
The fire appeared to have started from electrical wiring near the heater. It spread to the middle bedroom and then to the hall. Firefighters contained the fire to the center of the mobile home, but the residence suffered extensive interior damage. Family members and the Red Cross are assisting the man.
Engine 1, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 18, Tender 26, Tender 27, Medic 18, Medic 26, 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
A Walterboro man narrowly escaped a house fire Friday morning 11-April.
At 06:12, 9-1-1 received several reports of a well-involved fire at a residence located at 410 Country Lane. Colleton County (SC) Engine 26 arrived to find a singlewide mobile home with an addition and attached garage approximately 60% involved. The only occupant was in the roadway with only the clothes on his back. When he discovered the fire, he was able to quickly exit the home through the garage.
Barry McRoy photo
Barry McRoy photo
Firefighters deployed two 1-3/4 handlines to combat the flames. Fire had consumed most of the interior leaving only the walls on one end of the mobile home. The roof on the opposite end had already collapsed. Crews were able to make entry through the garage and stop the fire before it reached the garage area. The remainder of the house suffered heavy damage. A pickup truck in the back yard also suffered damage.
Barry McRoy photo
Barry McRoy photo
Firefighters had the fire under control within 30 minutes, but were on the scene for over three hours. The fire appears to have started in the area of the kitchen, but is still under investigation. Water supply was conducted with tenders.
Barry McRoy photo
Engine 1, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Medic 1, Medic 26, Battalion 1, and Car 12 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.
A yard debris fire quickly escalated into a three-alarm response which destroyed three homes, a storage building and damaged a large, abandoned, wooden dwelling. Approximately 10 acres of woods and brush were also burned.
At 13:42 Thursday 27-March, Colleton County 9-1-1 was notified by a caller who stated a yard debris fire had spread to two houses near 47 Harry Lane. The location is a dirt road located in a rural community in southern Colleton County off of Catterton Lane. Engine 13 arrived nine minutes later to find one single-story structure fully involved. The roof had already collapsed. A doublewide mobile home was also fully involved and a second doublewide mobile home was approximately 50% involved.
Harold Buzzell photo
Light winds had driven the fire across a broom straw field and into several wooded areas north and west of the structure fires. The fast moving grass/woods fire was threatening several other homes in the area. Engine 13 and the crew from Medic 13 deployed handlines to protect a mobile home near the third structure and two large LP tanks in the yard. Tender 13 was directed to Rufus Lane to the head of the woods fire to protect homes on Rufus Lane.
Harold Buzzell photo
Harold Buzzell photo
A second alarm and Forestry were requested. Engine 13 set up a ground monitor and directed the stream on the third structure, while crewmembers worked to extinguish the fires. When Battalion 1 arrived, he assumed command of the incident and requested a third alarm along with several brush trucks. Multiple handlines and master stream devices were used to bring the fire under control. The Forestry Commission responded with three tractors and a Ranger. Two homes were completely destroyed by the fire. The third structure, a doublewide mobile home suffered heavy damage, but several rooms were salvaged. A fourth wooden structure, that was vacant received minor damage. Firefighters kept the flames from reaching six other homes near the location. No injuries were reported.
Harold Buzzell photo
Harold Buzzell photo
The fire originated in a yard debris pile behind 47 Harry Lane. The homeowner had been burning debris from the recent ice storm. Light winds spread the fire into a nearby hedgerow, then through the yard to a one-story wooden home. The flames quickly consumed the wooden building. The fire then moved to a nearby doublewide mobile home, then to the third doublewide mobile home. The yard fire rapidly spread into a nearby broom straw field with the winds droving the fire in several directions endangering other buildings in the neighborhood. Firefighters and Forestry personnel were on the scene for over 4-1/2 hours. Water supply was conducted with tenders.
Engine 3, Engine 8, Engine 13, Engine 27, Tender 1, Tender 4, Tender 8, Tender 13, Tender 15, Tender 18, Tender 19, Tender 22, Tender 25, Tender 27, Tender 29, Brush 2, Brush 8, Brush 15, Brush 24, Medic 6, Medic 13, Medic 18, Battalion 1, Car 12, Car 107, Car 111, Car 118, three Forestry tractors and a Ranger responded. Battalion Chief Ben Heape, Battalion Chief Scott Feather and Sd. Lt. Janet Laney operated the Command Post. Photos by Harold Buzzell.
