Fire in Port Royal damages 4 apartments. Could’ve been worse if not for this
Burton Fire District and Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department responded to a fire at Ashton Pointe Apartments in Port Royal Friday evening, according to a Burton Fire District release.
The fire broke out at around 6:30 p.m. Friday in an apartment kitchen, the release said. Firefighters arriving on the scene found smoke emanating from a second floor apartment in the complex, which is located on Robert Smalls Parkway.
“I was met outside the affected apartment by a female resident and with her child” said Lt. Josh Waskow of the Beaufort/Port Eoyal Fire Department in a Department release, which also said he was the first fire officer on the scene. “She told me her stove top, cabinets and kitchen were on fire and when we entered her apartment we found the fire completely contained and almost fully extinguished through the activation of two residential sprinkler heads.”
Firefighters were able to finish extinguishing the fire on their arrival, the Burton release said, limiting fire damage to the stove and cabinets.
The unit that caught fire, alongside three additional units, suffered water damage according to the report.
Residents from four apartments were displaced by the damage from the fire and sprinklers, the release said, but people living in the 20 other apartments were able to go back to their homes.
There were no reported injuries in the release.
This marks the second time in less than a month that a sprinkler system has helped to save a property by containing or putting out a fire before firefighters arrive, the Burton Fire District said, highlighting the importance of including sprinklers in building being constructed now and in the future.
South Carolina does not have a universal sprinkler requirement, the release said, and is a regular leader in national fire death statistics.
“We can dry your house out, but we can’t unburn it,” said Burton Fire Chief Harry Rountree in the release.
To learn more about sprinkler systems, ask your local fire department or visit the South Carolina Fire Sprinkler Association at www.scfsa.org.
Michael Olinger: 843-706-8107, @mikejolinger
Kitchen fire safety tips from the Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department
▪ Never leave cooking unattended
▪ Always have a working fire extinguisher in the kitchen, out, visible, and readily accessible.
▪ Always have working smoke detectors in your home.
▪ When cooking have correct fitting lids out, visible, and readily available (A lid can be placed on an overheated pot or pan to extinguish a small, incipient, fire.)
▪ NEVER throw flour or water on an actively burning grease fire. You will only spread the fire and injure yourself or cause more damage.
▪ If a fire starts you have to make decisions in split seconds between fight or flight. You only have seconds to appropriately react to a growing fire or get your family and get out.
Without a plan and training this is almost impossible to accomplish. Once you are out, stay out, call 911, and ensure you alert anyone that could be affected by the fire by activating a fire alarm or calling out.
- The Beaufort/Port Royal Fire Department
This story was originally published January 20, 2018 at 12:08 PM with the headline "Fire in Port Royal damages 4 apartments. Could’ve been worse if not for this."