Tag Archives: South Carolina

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Columbia, SC – Overnight arson fire at Walmart held in check by sprinkler system

Blog Editor Note: Fire sprinkler system SAVED the store and minimized fire damage. Store re-opened three days later, allowing employees to return to work.

Media Report: Two men have been charged with second-degree arson in connection with Tuesday’s fire that caused $3 million in damages at the Harbison Walmart, according to police. Steven D. Edwards, 41, and Bobby J. Murphy Jr., 46, are being held at the Lexington County Detention Center, police said. The fire happened Tuesday around 3 a.m. at the Walmart that sits just off Harbison Boulevard near Interstate 26. When crews arrived, heavy smoke filled the store and flames covered one of the food aisles, Columbia Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins told The State.

The store’s sprinkler system kept the fire in check, Jenkins said. Still, the fire, which investigators believe started in one of the food aisles, caused “significant” damage to inventory and the store. A few employees and customers were inside the building during the fire, but no one was injured, authorities said. The Walmart re-opened Friday. The Columbia Police Department said tips from Crimestoppers of the Midlands and Lexington County Sheriff’s Department helped find Edwards and Murphy.

The men will be transferred to Alvin S. Glenn Detention Center, where a bond hearing will be held. Police had also announced a third person of interest in connection with the fire. A woman arrived with the two suspects in an older, green SUV, police said, but no arrest was announced. Both suspects have prior unrelated convictions. Edwards pleaded guilty to possession of marijuana and receiving stolen goods in 2018, court records show. In 2009 and 2016, Murphy pleaded guilty to charges of domestic violence, cruelty to children, and manufacturing methamphetamine, according to records. The 2016 meth charge was suspended from 5 years in prison to 2 years probation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Florence, SC – Sprinkler system kept stove fire in check until fire crews arrived

One Florence apartment suffered slight fire and some water damage while 23 others in the same building escaped damage Sunday afternoon.

Howe Springs firefighters responded shortly after 1:30 p.m. to Charles Pointe Apartments to a reported kitchen fire.

A resident cooking lunch either left it unattended or it boiled over onto the stove and it caught fire, said Howe Springs Fire Chief William Dillon.

The building’s sprinkler system kept the fire in check until firefighters arrived and extinguished it, Dillon said. The building’s fire alarm system alerted every other resident in the building to evacuate.

Dillon said firefighters remained on scene to isolate the sprinkler flow to the apartment, salvage threatened content and then help remove water from the first-floor apartment before other apartments could be damaged.

Dillon said the resident will be out of their apartment for several days while repairs are made.

No injuries were reported as a result of the blaze.

Howe Springs responded three engines, a ladder truck and 20 firefighters.

Government/Military, Prison / Jail

Lancaster, SC – Fire in dust collection system in prison wood shop is put out by sprinkler system

A fire broke out in the Kershaw Correctional Institution woodworking shop Tuesday afternoon. Lancaster County Fire Marshal Russell Rogers said the fire started in the dust-collection system in the woodworking shop, located in the back part of the prison complex. The fire started shortly after 1 p.m. and was extinguished by the built-in sprinkler system. The cause of the fire is still unknown, Rogers said Tuesday. There were inmates and officers in the building at the time of the fire and one of the inmates sustained a minor burn injury, Rogers said.

Apartment Building, Residential

Charleston, SC – Sprinkler system activated for porch fire at apartment complex

Port Royal fire crews respond to a porch fire at a Lowcountry apartment on Friday morning.

Firefighters with the City of Beaufort-Town of Port Royal Fire Department and the Burton Fire District responded to the 1000 building at the Preserve at Port Royal apartment community.

Upon their arrival, fire crews say found a porch fire on the second story of the apartment building.

Fire crews say “damage was mostly limited to the porch but the heat also broke the windows between the porch and the apartment so there was smoke and minor heat damaga inside the apartment along with some water damage.”

Deputy chief of operations, Tim Ogden, says porch fires are an area of concern for the fire crew

“At the time these units were constructed the code required a residential sprinkler system which is in each apartment here,” Ogden said. “However, residential systems are designed by code to save lives by giving occupants time to escape a fire, not fully protect the property. The code did not require a sprinkler head on the porch and these porches are thus unprotected and susceptible to fire damage.”

The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Apartment Building, Residential

Johns Island, SC – Apartment kitchen fire contained by single sprinkler

Charleston’s Fire Marshal Division responded to a report about a fire in an apartment building on Reva Ridge Drive in Johns Island around 3 p.m. Thursday. Firefighters arrived in less than five minutes to the three-story apartment building, according to officials.

“Smoke was venting from a first floor unit and crews rapidly entered the home to discover a smoldering fire in the kitchen area,” according to the department. The occupant of the apartment was not home, however a passersby noticed smoke venting from the apartment and notified property management and 911, according to officials.

“A single fire sprinkler head activated and contained the fire damage to the kitchen,” the department states. “Investigators determined the fire originated in the kitchen and was likely caused by a coffee maker.”

Emergency responders included the Charleston, St. John’s Fire District, James Island PSD Fire Department, North Charleston Fire Department, Charleston County EMS and City of Charleston Police Department. One tenant was displaced as a result of the incident and no injuries were reported.

Apartment Building, Residential

Spartanburg, SC – Sprinkler system extinguishes apartment kitchen fire; No injuries reported

Three families were displaced after an apartment fire Friday evening off Powell Mill Road.

Una Fire Chief Jeff Hadden said his department responded to a kitchen fire at about 5:20 p.m.

The fire started on the stove in an apartment at Companion at Lee’s Crossing, which is just past Jesse Bobo Elementary School.

The apartment complex’s sprinkler system extinguished the fire, Hadden said.

That apartment and the two below it sustained water damage, affecting a total of nine adults and six children.

No one was injured.

The local Red Cross chapter is providing financial and other assistance to all of those affected by the fire who needed it.

Apartment Building, Residential

Mauldin, SC – Fire at apartment complex held in check by sprinkler system until fire department arrives

On Sunday the Mauldin Fire Department responded to a fire at an apartment complex on Butler Road. Chief Bill Stewart said on Sunday afternoon the department received a call for a fire that broke out at the Bell Brookfield Apartments. Chief Stewart says the fire started on the third floor of one of the apartments as the result of a dryer. He went on to state that the sprinkler unit in the apartment held the fire in check. According to the Chief, there was damage to the unit’s laundry room, and water damage to the two apartments below. We’re told by the fire department that the apartment complex was able to move all the people who lived in the three units to vacant units and that luckily, no one was hurt. The Red Cross has also responded to help those impacted.

Grocery Store / Super Center, Retail

Anderson, SC – Walmart arson fire contained by sprinkler system

A stuffed animal was set on fire, presumably as a distraction so someone could steal a robotic vacuum, said Anderson Police Chief Jim Stewart.

Three days after what authorities believe to be an arson, the Walmart on State 28 Bypass reopened this morning.

The store was evacuated Monday, with no injuries, after a fire that began near the photography department.

The small fire was quickly contained by the sprinkler system, but that caused water damage and there was a lot of smoke.

Stewart said a man has been arrested and charged.

Michael Travis Robinson, 43, is charged with second degree arson.

According to a warrant, he set fire to an item in the store causing “extendive damage to the location with numerous people present.”

These areas will be open, according to the store’s Facebook page: “produce, bakery, deli, meat, dairy, grocery, pets, paper goods, and chemicals.”

The investigation into the fire is ongoing and is being conducted by the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division along with the Anderson Police Department and the Anderson Fire Department.

Nursing Home/Senior Living, Residential

Spartanburg, SC – Cooking fire at senior living facility extinguished by sprinkler system

A Spartanburg senior living facility was evacuated after a cooking fire spread smoke through the hallways.

The fire happened shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday at Pacifica Senior Living on Skylyn Drive. 

Firefighters said the fire started after a resident fell asleep while cooking.

There were reportedly no working smoke detectors in that unit, and sprinklers at the facility put out the fire. The sprinkler system is back up and running at this time.

A Drayton Fire Department’s fire marshal said on Wednesday that the room where the fire happened is unlivable, and has water and fire damage.

The fire marshal said they will be conducting more inspections to get a complete estimate on damage at the facility.

No one was reportedly hurt. 

“She’s very lucky the sprinkler system did what it’s designed to do. Had the sprinkler system not been in there then this probably would’ve turned out a different scenario,” Drayton Deputy Fire Marshall Todd Mason said.

Investigators will look into the lack of a working smoke detector in the unit. 

Drayton, Whitney, Converse, city of Spartanburg and Glendale fire crews responded to the scene. 

Apartment Building, Residential

Greenville, SC – “Their sprinkler system really saved them,” says Battalion Chief after overnight fire at apartment complex

Several families were displaced and 10 units were damaged during an early Sunday morning fire at an apartment complex on Rhett Street in downtown Greenville, officials said.  The fire was reported around 12:30 a.m. at 400 Rhett, an apartment complex named for its location. Battalion Chief Mike Marlow of the Greenville Fire Department said the fire started in the kitchen of a third-floor apartment and that several units on the first and second floors also sustained water damage.

“Their sprinkler system really saved them,” Marlow said. “The sprinkler system kept the fire contained to that one upstairs unit and kept it from spreading to others.”  Marlow said Sunday afternoon that the fire remained under investigation and that he’s not sure what caused it to start in the kitchen.   “The man who lived in the unit told us he was asleep and that he was awakened by an alarm,” Marlow said.

Heather Lockhart, a regional manager for 400 Rhett, said there was “an issue with an appliance” and that the appliance started emitting smoke.  She said a remediation company was working at the apartment complex Sunday to assess and repair the damage.

“We’ve very thankful everyone is safe,” she said. “We’re doing our best to help them and to get through this. Thankfully, some of the people have been able to return to their homes.”

No one was injured in the fire.

At least 22 firefighters responded to the blaze and remained at the scene for several hours, Marlow said.

The American Red Cross said in a prepared statement Sunday that it is responding to help residents who were affected by the fire.

“American Red Cross disaster-trained volunteers are assisting multiple families whose homes located on Rhett Street, were damaged by a fire early this morning,” the statement read. “The Greenville City Fire Department responded to the blaze. The Red Cross is helping two adults by providing financial assistance for food, clothing, lodging and other essentials, and comfort kits containing personal hygiene items.”

According to its website, 400 Rhett is a collection of one- and two-bedroom apartments that feature gourmet kitchens, granite counters, plank flooring and nine-foot ceilings. The apartment with the smallest floor plan, 588 square feet, has a monthly rent that starts at $1,125. The larger units, which have private balconies, have monthly rental prices that begin at $1,620.