CCFR March 25 2009

Colleton Medical Center in Walterboro. He went into Cardiac Arrest while being transported to the hospital. The hospital staff continued resuscitative efforts for about fifteen minutes after the ambulance arrived, but the man was pronounced dead after he failed to respond to treatment.

State Law Enforcement Division Investigators responded to the scene as standard procedure due to a fire death. The fire appears to have started in the front living room, but the actual cause is still under investigation. Colleton County Fire-Rescue Investigators returned to the scene to assist SLED with the investigative effort.

The man was the only person at home at the time of the fire. His 78 year old wife arrived home from lunch at the Council on Aging to find smoke coming from the residence. She went to a neighbor’s home and alerted 9-1-1. She was not injured, but was checked at the scene by Firemedics as a precaution. Fire crews from both agencies were on the scene for six hours.

	Stations 1, 9, 19, 27 and City of Walterboro Public Safety responded to a house fire with entrapment at 202 Price Street within the City Limit of Walterboro. The fire was dispatched at 12:42 on Wednesday 25-March. Truck 111, Battalion 1 and Medic 27 arrived within four minutes to find heavy smoke coming from the single story house with flames visible in the front room of the residence. Six Colleton County Fire-Rescue personnel entered the structure through the rear door, without the protection of a hose line, and began searching for the 85 year old man. Neighbors advised the man was inside the home. Walterboro Public Safety crews (Engine 1) arrived about 3 minutes later and deployed two 1-3/4 hand lines. One line was run to the rear door for the interior crews to use. Heavy flames broke through the front windows and door within minutes as conditions deteriorated inside the residence. County Firemedics continued to search despite the extreme heat and zero visibility. They located the man on a bed in the rear of the 2000 square foot home approximately 12 minutes later. Firefighters had the bulk of the fire in the front of the structure knocked down by this time, allowing the man to be rapidly removed from the house. Five County Firemedics carried the 85 year old man to the front yard and immediately began resuscitative efforts with the assistance of other County Firemedics. The man still had a pulse, but was not breathing. He also had severe burns to his feet and lower legs. He was intubated to secure his airway. An IV was established and medications administered before he was rapidly transported to
	Colleton Medical Center in Walterboro. He went into Cardiac Arrest while being transported to the hospital. The hospital staff continued resuscitative efforts for about fifteen minutes after the ambulance arrived, but the man was pronounced dead after he failed to respond to treatment. State Law Enforcement Division Investigators responded to the scene as standard procedure due to a fire death. The fire appears to have started in the front living room, but the actual cause is still under investigation. Colleton County Fire-Rescue Investigators returned to the scene to assist SLED with the investigative effort. The man was the only person at home at the time of the fire. His 78 year old wife arrived home from lunch at the Council on Aging to find smoke coming from the residence. She went to a neighbor’s home and alerted 9-1-1. She was not injured, but was checked at the scene by Firemedics as a precaution. Fire crews from both agencies were on the scene for six hours.
	County units – Battalion 1, Truck 111, Squad 27, Medic 9, Medic 19, Medic 27 responded. City Units – Engine 1, Engine 2, Engine 3 and Truck 1 responded. Chief McRoy served as Incident Commander.