Beaufort residents escape Sunday fire as flames ‘consumed home around them’

Residents of a Beaufort home escaped a Sunday evening house fire with no injuries, but the fire destroyed the interior of the home and everything in it.

The fire was reported at a residence on Rogers Drive around 7 p.m., according to a City of Beaufort and Town of Port Royal Fire Department news release.

Firefighters arrived to find the home heavily engulfed.

“There was fire coming from every opening,” Lt. Josh Doud said.

The residents were able to make it out of the home unscathed.

According to an American Red Cross news release, the organization is assisting three adults who escaped the home by providing financial assistance for food, clothing, lodging and other essentials and comfort kits containing personal hygiene items.

“The residents of this home were very lucky,” Chief Reece Bertholf said. “This fire started in the bedroom and it quickly overpowered the efforts of the residents to extinguish it. It appears that these residents made it out of the home with the fire consuming the home around them.”

Firefighters were able to get the blaze under control in 30 minutes. Investigators remained on the scene for another three hours and the cause of the fire is still being determined.

The fire department credits the safety of the residents to a recent smoke detector blitz in the area when the department partnered with the Red Cross to go door to door to install smoke detectors in the community.

“There is no doubt in my mind that the presence of smoke alarms in this home were a contributing factor to the residents being alerted to the fire and escaping with their lives,” Bertholf said.

The department was assisted at the scene by the Beaufort Fire District, the Beaufort Police Department and Beaufort County EMS.

Anyone interested in having a free home safety evaluation and smoke detector installation may call the Port Royal Fire Department at 843-525-7055.

This story was originally published September 18, 2017 at 8:36 AM with the headline "Beaufort residents escape Sunday fire as flames ‘consumed home around them’."