2 vacant Beaufort County mobile homes the scenes of 2 suspicious fires

Two vacant Beaufort County mobile homes miles apart were the scenes of suspicious fires on Monday and Tuesday night, according to two Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office reports.

Neither the fire on Scipio Road near Burton around 4 p.m. on Monday nor the fire on Chisholm Road on St. Helena Island shortly before 11 p.m. Tuesday resulted in any injuries, according to the reports. The fires were not believed to be connected, Sheriff’s Office Capt. Bob Bromage said Wednesday.

The first fire was discovered shortly after vandalism was reported at the mobile home, according to a corresponding Sheriff’s Office report. A woman who told deputies she was going to be the new owner said she saw a pickup truck at the mobile home shortly before she got a call that the home was on fire.

The second fire was at a mobile home that had been vacant for years, according to a neighbor’s account in the second report. He told deputies there was no electricity or running water and no one should have been inside. A stranger knocked on the neighbor’s door shortly before 11 p.m. to tell him about the fire. The neighbor then called 911.

In each case, fire officials found two spots where the fire had been started but could not immediately determine how they were started, according to the reports.

This story was originally published January 31, 2018 at 3:02 PM with the headline "2 vacant Beaufort County mobile homes the scenes of 2 suspicious fires."