By HEATHER WALTERS
The State Law Enforcement Division (SLED) is investigating the cause of a fire that destroyed a Cottageville family’s house last week.
Firefighters with Colleton County Fire-Rescue were called to the Red Oak Road residence on the morning of March 11th: initial 911-callers reported hearing explosions at the house, which was located on the 5000-block of Red Oak Road.
According to Chief Barry McRoy, with Colleton County Fire-Rescue, there were reports of two people trapped inside the house.
“Fire-Rescue units arrived minutes later to find heavy smoke conditions in a double wide mobile home,” said McRoy. “Fire was venting from the eaves on the southside of the structure.”
According to McRoy, all occupants in the house were safely out of the residence and no one was injured in the fire. “Firefighter-Paramedics deployed multiple handlines and entered the structure,” he said. “Most of the fire was in the void space above the living area. Crews quickly knocked down the exterior flames, but had some difficulty reaching the fire in the void space, which ran in both directions throughout the space on the front unit of the doublewide.
“The roof collapsed over a front bedroom and the living room,” he said.
McRoy said firefighters had the fire under control within approximately 30 minutes.
Many of the family’s personal items were saved from the fire, but the roof of the house and several rooms inside the house received “substantial damage,” said McRoy.
According to McRoy, the fire appears to have started on the front porch of the residence, and then traveled up the front of the house.
Investigators with SLED were called to the scene to assist with the investigation.
In all, firefighting units and investigators were on scene for about five hours, said McRoy.
