‘Suspicious fire’ — These Bluffton Fire District vehicles burned; officials ask why

The Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office and Bluffton Township Fire District are investigating a “suspicious fire” after some of the district’s vehicles — a “scrap” small passenger vehicle, bus and mid-size recreational vehicle used for training purposes — were reported burning.

Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to the fire on Ulmer Road in Bluffton around 3 p.m. Tuesday, according to a Sheriff’s Office report.

Fire District spokesman Capt. Randy Hunter confirmed the fire during a phone conversation Thursday afternoon. The Sheriff’s Office and district fire marshal are investigating the case as a “suspicious fire,” Hunter said. If they determine it’s a suspicious fire, an arson investigation will follow.

The fire appears suspicious because the vehicles are never turned on and rarely moved, Hunter said. They were found burning at a Fire District training site, he added.

The Fire District does not set fire to the scrap vehicles because government regulations prohibit them from doing so. Instead, the vehicles are used to practice extracting people after simulated wrecks, Hunter said. Sometimes, the car will be placed under the bus, for example, so rescuers can practice removing the bus and getting people out of the car.

The scrap vehicles, owned by the district, have no monetary value, according to the Sheriff’s Office report. Fire District personnel were already extinguishing the blaze when Sheriff’s deputies arrived.

A witness described a purple Ford Ranger pickup truck near the scene moments before the fire, according to the report. Just before the blaze ignited, that truck “spun its tires and quickly fled the scene.”

The witness said he heard the fire ignite, and that it did so “quickly.”

This story was originally published January 18, 2018 at 4:20 PM with the headline "‘Suspicious fire’ — These Bluffton Fire District vehicles burned; officials ask why."