Foul play suspected after 20 Hilton Head kids escape fire

Twenty children were evacuated from a Hilton Head Island after-school program Wednesday afternoon after a fire in a bathroom there. No one was injured, according to a Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office report.

The fire was reported around 3:45 p.m. at the Neighborhood Outreach Connection program on William Hilton Parkway in The Oaks apartment complex, according to the Sheriff’s Office report.

An employee called 911 after he saw the smoke. When he opened the door, “heavy smoke poured out.” He spotted the toilet paper fire beneath a sink, the report said.

As the smoke detector went off, the children were evacuated. The employee put out the flames with a fire extinguisher. He told deputies he believed “foul play” was the cause of the fire.

A fire inspector suspected the same thing and two children were interviewed to about the fire. Both said they smelled the smoke, but had never played with matches or a lighter and were unaware of how the fire started.

No matches or lighters were found at the scene.

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Foul play suspected after 20 Hilton Head kids escape fire."