Colleton County Fire-Rescue and Sheriff’s Office units responded to Hendersonville Elementary School Wednesday afternoon December 11. Initial reports to 9-1-1 advised of smoke in the building with a fire in the ceiling above a class room. Engine 1 arrived to find no visible signs from the exterior of the building, however there was the smell of smoke with a light haze in several classrooms and the hall in the north end of the large facility. School officials had already safely evacuated the children and staff from the building and fire doors had automatically closed protecting the rest of the structure. School district facilities management personnel arrived quickly as well and worked with responders to locate the problem. Firefighter-Paramedics removed ceiling tiles in several rooms searching for the source. The facilities personnel located a burned-out blower motor in a HVAC unit on the roof. The smoke from the damaged motor had been carried into several classrooms through the A/C duct work. It was determined that there was no fire damage to the building. The HVAC unit was isolated and the children were brought back inside to the cafeteria on the south end of the facility, where it was warm and there was no smoke. School was dismissed a short time later at the normal time. Teachers gathered the children’s belongings and brought them to the safe area where parents and buses were able to pick up the children. The teachers and staff did a great job during the emergency and the regularly practiced fire drills paid off with the safe evacuation. No injuries were reported.
