Tuesday afternoon home fire, coupled with second fire further southeast, challenge fire services Sou

Gaston, SC (Paul Kirby) – A home fire in the 900 block of Old Scout Road destroyed a doublewide mobile home Tuesday afternoon and challenged the resources of the South Region of the county fire service. It, coupled with another fire near the Calhoun County line, had all the area’s fire personnel and equipment either committed or on standby in another area as the teams worked to get things under control. The fire on Old Scout was reported at about 3:00 p.m. Callers advised that there was smoke and flames visible from the large doublewide home that’s located in the Wild Meadows sub-division off Fish Hatchery Road. When the first due fire personnel arrived, they had both flames and heavy smoke coming from the home. They immediately went on a defensive attack until they could knock enough of the fire down to transition into an offensive mode. Once this was accomplished, their commander could order his crews inside to fight the seat of the fire. The battalion chief was right behind the first arriving trucks and he assumed command of the fire ground. He began requesting additional equipment, especially water tankers and manpower, as his firefighters battled the blaze. There are no usable fire hydrants in Wild Meadows. Law enforcement officers arrived, as did an EMS crew. These responders are invaluable when there’s a fire of this nature. The deputies handle traffic control and make sure that no bystanders get too close. This prevents them from putting themselves in harm's way while the EMS crew treats anyone at the fire who may have been injured in some way. The EMTs also constantly monitor the health of the firefighters so that they don’t overexert or injure themselves. As the additional resources were being requested by Battalion #2, the second battalion chief out of Lexington was moving trucks and manpower to fill in the empty stations. This was done because a large, intense fire can strip all the county’s stations, leaving nothing available for a second fire. In Tuesday’s case, a second emergency demonstrated the need for these moves. During the height of the fire, a call came in from Calhoun County for assistance at a brush fire that was threatening structures. This fire was off Sandpiper Drive east of Gaston. Originally, this came in as a mutual aid from Calhoun County, but there was some confusion as to what county that fire was in. Lexington County did respond to the request with several pieces of equipment and our personnel were key to bringing that fire under control quickly. Battalion #1 responded to this as is normal when we have our resources respond into another jurisdiction. This, however, emptied some of the last few stations in the South Region. Once again, the North Region’s battalion chief was key to area coverage while he was enroute to Sandpiper. He moved some equipment and personnel south, filling in the stations as best he could so that there were no holes in our coverage. Although the south’s protection was thin, there were manned trucks available for other emergencies. The fire on Old Scout was declared under control at about 4:45 p.m. Once the Sandpiper fire was put out, those trucks were moved back toward the empty stations so that they were ready to respond if needed. It took a great deal of time for the crews to pick up and clean up at the scene on Old Scout before they could return to their stations. It was well into the evening before the last trucks left. Throughout the remainder of the evening and late into the night, firefighters returned to the house many times to check for rekindles. The cause of the fire has not been released by the fire service. The home was determined to be a total loss.