Port Royal-area burger restaurant evacuated after fire near the front door

A small fire was discovered in mulch outside the Fat Patties on Parris Island Gateway shortly after 8:30 p.m. on Wednesday, according to a Burton Fire District news release. Firefighters were forced to pour water into a nearby wall to cool it down.

After smelling what they thought was burning leaves, restaurant employees put out the mulch fire just outside the front door, according to the fire district.

Firefighters used a thermal imaging camera and saw that the space inside the wall near the fire was hot, according to the release. The restaurant was briefly evacuated while firefighters made a small hole in the baseboard and sprayed water inside the wall until it cooled to a safe temperature.

Burton fire officials warned that wall fires can be dangerous because they travel unseen. They also encouraged people to throw smoking items away in the proper places to avoid a fire. Ashes from something like a cigarette can smolder for up to 8 hours before creating flames, according to the release.

Beaufort-Port Royal Fire Department also responded to the emergency.

In July, a flash fire at the Fat Patties restaurant in Bluffton left an employee severely burned.

This story was originally published December 14, 2017 at 3:23 PM with the headline "Port Royal-area burger restaurant evacuated after fire near the front door."