19/January/2016 – Fatal Structure Fire – “C” Shift 

Incident # 16-00362 – At 17:08, Tuesday afternoon 19-Janaury, Fire-Rescue was sent to a structure fire at 72 Shelby Lane, located in a rural community west of the Town of Smoaks. The initial caller to 9-1-1 reported smoke and flames coming from the residence. The caller advised there was a man inside the home and her husband was attempting to get him out, but was driven out of the building due to the smoke. Engine 7 arrived seven minutes later to find heavy smoke coming from the doublewide mobile home. The residence was located down a small dirt driveway. Firefighters entered the home searching for the man. They encountered flames in the master bedroom and located the occupant on the bed. Sadly, the man was deceased. Crews used one 1-3/4 handline to extinguish the blaze. Most of the fire damage was isolated to the bedroom, however the remainder of the home suffered smoke damage. The residence was recently setup and had no power connected. A generator was being used for electricity. Fire-Rescue, the Sheriff’s and Coroner’s Office as well as SLED is investigating the incident. SLED assists with the investigation as standard procedure whenever a fire death occurs in Colleton County.  Fire units remained on the scene 5-1/2 hours.  

Engine 7, Engine 18, Tender 1, Tender 7, Tender 18, Medic 18, Squad 7, Battalion 1, Car 12, Car 105, Car 107 and Car 118 responded. Battalion Chief Ben Heape served as Incident Commander.