2 fires in 12 hours: Bluffton department determining what happened to garage, vacant home
Two residential fires in 12 hours — neither resulting in injuries or loss of life — kept the Bluffton Township Fire District busy starting Tuesday afternoon.
A neighbor reported smoke coming from a detached garage on Regent Avenue in the Westbury Park neighborhood around 4 p.m., Capt. Randy Hunter said.
Flames eventually broke through the front of the building and could be seen burning the sides and roof. Photographs from the scene show a heavily damaged vehicle in the garage.
Crews were able to get the fire under control and were on the scene for about an hour.
The side of the home closest to the garage suffered “minimal damage” from the high heat, Hunter said.
The residents were not home when the fire occurred, and no injuries were reported.
Around 4 a.m. Wednesday, the department responded to a fire in a vacant home on Goethe Road near Martha Brown Circle. A neighbor across the street called 911.
Crews were on the scene for about four hours, making sure all the “hot spots” were out so the fire wouldn’t rekindle.
The building was a total loss, but none of the homes around it was affected, and no injuries were reported, Hunter said.
Wednesday morning’s fire was the second to occur in a vacant structure in the Goethe Road area in the last month, but the department does not believe the incidents are connected in any way, he said.
“I can probably count on my hand where we had two fires so close together like that in the past,” Hunter said.
In addition to fires, the fire department also responds to other emergencies such as car crashes and medical problems.
The Bluffton Fire District Fire Marshall’s Office is working to determine the cause and origin of both fires.
Hunter said anyone who has information about the Goethe Road fire should call the Marshall’s Office at 843-757-2800.
More photos from the recent fires:
This story was originally published February 25, 2021 at 11:00 AM.
