Colleton County Fire-Rescue

12/31/2008

A three alarm fire brought nine stations to an approximately 5800 square foot two story residential dwelling located at 288 Chester Lane near Cottageville. The 9-1-1 Center received the first report of the fire at 2210 new years eve, reporting fire in the master bedroom. 42 firefighters worked for nearly three hours to bring the fire under control. Fire units arrived to find heavy smoke coming from the structure and fire on the first floor.

Entry crews quickly found the fire in the master bedroom, but discovered heavy fire conditions above them in the attic. The ceiling began to fail forcing firefighters out of the west end of the building. Moments later the roof collapsed over the rear section on the west end of the building.

Heavy fire conditions and winds spread the fire into the roof of the middle section of the structure. The center portion of the building was constructed with high vaulted ceilings. Firefighters used three 1-3/4 handlines and one 2-1/2 handline from Engine 9. CAFS Engine 1 also responded and deployed two 1-3/4 CAFS lines. A Tender Shuttle was established for water supply. The home which was located on a single lane winding dirt road, 1/4 mile off of Burr Hill Road, presented some challenging water supply problems. Tenders lined

Burr Hill Road and rotated in to the scene to supply the Engines. The home was inaccessible to a ladder truck. Tenders drove back to Walterboro to refill with water due to no pressurized public water system in the Cottageville area. Nine 3000 gallon Tenders were used for the water shuttle operation.

The fire heavily damaged the east end of the structure, second floor and roof. Several first floor rooms were saved, but suffered water damage. A 2000 square foot garage was not damaged. All occupants exited the building unharmed. One person was treated with a mild respiratory problem, but did not wish to be transported to the hospital. Units were on the scene for over 6 hours and returned the next day for investigation purposes. The fire is believed to originated in or near electrical wiring in the attic and spread undetected for some time.

Engine 9, CAFS Engine 1, Tender 2, Tender 5, Tender 6, Tender 9, Tender 11, Tender 12, Tender 19, Tender 27, Tender 203, Rescue 1, Medic 6, Medic 9, Medic 19, Battalion 1. Engine 26 was relocated to Station 27. Off duty personnel manned Reserve Engine 101 at Station 1. Battalion Chief Dan Barb served as Incident Commander, assisted by Captain Scott Feather.