A 28,000 sq. ft. home at Myrtle Grove Plantation was destroyed in an evening fire Wednesday 05-September in rural Colleton County (SC). At 18:29, 9-1-1 dispatchers received a report from an occupant at the residence located at 6938 White Hall Road advising that an A/C unit in the basement was on fire. The caller noted everyone was safely out of the building. The large home, which was constructed about ten years ago, is located at the end of a single lane, 1-1/2 mile long dirt road overlooking the Combahee River. Engine 6 and Car 107 were the first units to arrive and found that fire apparatus could not travel the road due to low hanging trees. Firefighters used chain saws to cut the tree limbs as they traveled down the small road trying to reach the fire. Crews had to stop five times to cut away the low hanging tree limbs before they could reach the scene. This delayed units reaching the fire and aerial apparatus could not access the scene.
After arriving at the end of the road, a large oak tree blocked access to the home. The residence is located in a non-hydranted area. Engine 2 established a water supply point at a large pond on the property and drafted water from the pond to refill tenders. Once on scene, firefighter-paramedics found heavy black smoke coming from the interior of the building. Flames were visible on the first and second floors at the rear of the structure. Firefighters deployed multiple handlines to the main building. Due the access problems, crews extended 3-inch lines to the building, gating them off to 1-3/4” lines and 2-1/2” lines to attack the fire. Firefighters protected exposures on one of the wings.
A second alarm was issued shortly after arrival. The fire quickly spread through the structure and interior conditions deteriorated forcing a defensive attack on the fire. The basement extended under the entire building, allowing the fire to reach all areas under the residence which was inaccessible to firefighters. Ground master stream devices were set up in the front lawn. A third alarm was requested about thirty minutes later and mutual-aid for personnel was requested from nearby Sheldon Fire Dept. in Beaufort County. Additional off-duty personnel were also recalled. Two water shuttle operations were established with tenders supplying Engine 6 near the residence and Engine 25 to the east of the home.
As news of the fire reached the public, onlookers came to the scene, blocking the only single lane access road. Several people walked ½ a mile to view the fire leaving their vehicles on the causeway near the water supply point. This prevented all additional responding fire apparatus from reaching the scene. Incoming firefighters then had to walk the same ½ mile to begin to assist at the scene. It took over thirty minutes to locate the drivers to have the vehicles moved. Sheriff’s deputies eventually blocked the entrance to the plantation, allowing only fire units access to the property. The fire eventually destroyed the entire structure. Firefighters worked through the night and early morning to extinguish the large fire. Fire crews were at the scene for 13 hours. One firefighter was injured and transported to Colleton Medical Center for treatment. He was released early Thursday morning and should be able to return to duty within a week.
Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 6, Engine 13, Engine 19, Engine 25, Tender 1, Tender 2, Tender 6, Tender 8, Tender 9, Tender 12, Tender 13, Tender 19, Tender 21, Tender 25, Tender 26, Tender 27, Tender 32, Medic 1, Medic 6, Medic 9, Medic 13, Medic 19, Battalion 1, Car 107, Car 112, Car 118 and Fleet 2 responded. Asst. Chief Marty Stallings, Battalion Chief Scott O’Quinn and Firefighter-EMT Shane Weber operated the Command Post. Captain Michael Banks coordinated water supply.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
A Colleton County (SC) home was destroyed in an early morning fire Wednesday 24-January. At 04:08, a caller to 9-1-1 reported seeing flames coming from the roof and hearing glass breaking in the two-story, residential structure, located at 262 Lakewood Drive. Firefighters arrived minutes later to find the home fully involved. It had been burning for some time before anyone discovered the fire.
The home was located in the back of the subdivision on the corner of Lakewood Dr and Sangaree Rd. Engine 19 set up on Sangaree while Engine 26 set up on Lakewood. Both units used deckguns on the fire and deployed multiple handlines. Engine 26 used a 3-inch line with a TFT Blitzfire master steam in the backyard, as well as two 1-3/4 handlines. Engine 19 deployed two 1-3/4 handlines and one 2-1/2 handline to the north side of the structure. The entire building collapsed approximately 10 minutes after fire units arrived.
A tender shuttle was established to provide water supply to Engine 26. Tenders pumped truck to truck to supply Engine 19. A second alarm was requested shortly after arrival for additional personnel and tenders. Ladder 19 setup behind Engine 26 on Lakewood Dr. Firefighters worked for over an hour to bring the fire under control and were on the scene for six hours performing overhaul. A small track hoe from the Roads and Bridges Department was brought in to assist firefighters in removing debris during overhaul operations. The home was being renovated and the cause appears to have been electrical in nature.
Engine 1, Engine 19, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 4, Tender 5, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Ladder 19, Medic 1, Medic 13, Medic 19, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 105, Car 112, and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Chris Jones served as incident commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
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
An Oakman Branch family was displaced after their home was destroyed in a late afternoon house fire, Friday evening 09-January. At 16:38, a caller reported the back of the home at 11138 Augusta Highway was ablaze. Colleton County (SC) Firefighters arrived to the rural community near I-95 eleven minutes later to find the 4,800 square foot, two-story house fully involved. A second alarm was issued shortly after arrival and a portion of the roof collapsed within two minutes of Engine 26 arriving on the scene. Firefighters used a truck mounted deck gun, deployed a ground monitor, a 2-1/2 handline, and multiple 1-3/4 handlines to combat the fire. A tender shuttle was established for water supply since no fire hydrants were in the area.
A third alarm was issued for additional tenders and personnel approximately ten minutes after arrival. The main structure collapsed nine minutes later. The fire was contained within 35 minutes and was under control approximately an hour later. Firefighters remained on the scene for six hours performing overhaul. Nine of Fire-Rescue’s 3,000-gallon tenders shuttled water for four hours.
The home owner advised he started a fire in the home’s fireplace. It was the first time they had used the fireplace since the home was constructed 15 years prior. Approximately 15 minutes later he saw flames through a window on the rear of the home. Upon investigating he found the back of the house and roof were on fire. He was able to evacuate everyone from the home safely and notify 9-1-1. No one was injured during the incident and the American Red Cross is assisting the family. Off-duty personnel were called in to back fill some stations.
Engine 13, Engine 17, Engine 19, Engine 26, Tender 5, Tender 6, Tender 7, Tender 9, Tender 18, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Tender 32, Rescue 1, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 12, Car 118, Car 105, Car 107 responded. Battalion Chief Ben Heape served as incident commander.
Barry W. McRoy, Fire Chief, Colleton County Fire-Rescue
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
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
