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 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
