‘Suspicious’ fire near Talmadge bridge took over 9 hours to put out. What we know
A large fire that reduced a former fireworks shop to rubble Wednesday near the Talmadge Bridge took over nine hours to put out and is being called suspicious by police.
The investigation has been handed over to the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, according to Jasper County Fire Rescue spokesman Lt. Garrett Lucas.
The fire, in the building at the foot of the bridge, “has been labeled suspicious,” Jasper County Sheriff’s Office Det. Sgt. Jake Higgins said in a text.
When the first unit arrived at 11 a.m. , the “vast majority” of the old fireworks shop was in flames, said Lucas.
Three fire engines, seven tankers, two ambulances, and a ladder truck were at the scene of the fire, he said.
He said firefighters faced several issues in getting the flames under control.
First, the location of the building near the water of the Little Back River meant winds helped spread the fire more quickly.
Another problem firefighters faced was the lack of a fire hydrant nearby. That meant tankers had to go back and forth on U.S. 17 to the nearest hydrant, which was at the SCAD Equestrian Center a few miles away.
Traffic was shut down for hours on both the Savannah side of the bridge, and on U.S. 17 so that firefighters could safely make the trip back and forth to the hydrant, Lucas said.
He said firefighters pumped 125,000 gallons of water by day’s end.
Lucas also said a heat index of over 100 degrees has hampered efforts to fight the fire. High heat indexes, which include temperature and humidity, can cause heat stress in first responders.
All crews safely cleared the scene at 9:30 p.m., he said.
The agencies involved in helping respond and fight the fire included the Levy Fire Department, the Bluffton Township Fire District, the Hardeeville Fire Department, Jasper County Fire Rescue, the Jasper County Sheriff’s Office, the Hardeeville Police Department, and the S.C. Law Enforcement Division.
The Sheriff’s Office is investigating the blaze with assistance from SLED.
This story was originally published July 16, 2020 at 2:23 PM.
