14/May/2013 – Fatal Structure Fire – “A” Shift

Incident # 13-02555 – The body of an adult male was found inside a burned out home at 2657 Jones Swamp Road Wednesday afternoon 14-May. Fire-Rescue was dispatched to a reported house on fire at 13:04 after a passerby reported to 9-1-1 that she saw flames coming from the building. The home was reported to have been constructed in the late 1920s to early 1930s and is located on a rural road in western Colleton County. Engine 26, Tender 26 and Medic  26 who are stationed about a mile from the scene arrived four minutes later to find the single story wooden structure heavily involved. Firefighters initially used a 2-1/2 handline to knock down the fire, then used two 1-3/4 handlines to enter the building. The fire started in the front of the home, quickly spreading to the attic. The thick tongue and groove covered walls and ceiling presented some access problems for firefighters. A chainsaw was used to breach one wall. Crews had the bulk of the fire knocked down within 25 minutes, but overhaul took several hours due to the heavy fire load inside the home. A tender shuttle was conducted for water supply. 

During overhaul operations, firefighters discovered the badly burned body of an adult male under several inched of debris. The Sheriff’s Office, Coroner, SLED and State Fire Marshall’s Office were notified, which is standard procedure in cases of a fire death. Initial investigations indicated the fire was more than likely accidental, but the results of the SLED investigation will not be known for several weeks. The Coroner’s Office transported the body to the Medical University of SC for identification and determination of a case of death. Units were on the scene for seven hours.

Engine 1, Engine 26, Tender 1, Tender 4, Tender 5, Tender 19, Tender 26, Tender 27, Tender 32, Medic 18, Medic 26, Battalion 1, Car 105, Car 110, Car 111 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Brent Dalton served as Incident Commander.