Fairview, SC (Paul Kirby) – Lexington County firefighters responded to a structure fire on Quattelbaum Road that was described as “working” early Monday morning when the first fire equipment arrived. The phrase working, used in conjunction with a structure fire, usually indicates that the crews will be on the scene battling fire with hoses, ventilating smoke and heat, salvaging what they can, and pulling apart any areas of the structure that may contain hidden fire. All this is done before they finally can declare the fire under control and out.
The fire was dispatched around 2:30 a.m. on the long, sandy road between Fairview and Leesville. The county’s dispatch center placed the nearest cross street as Live Oak Road when they alerted firefighters from multiple stations in the region of the fire.
Water tankers were used to carry water to the blaze in an area that’s very flat, rural, and dry. The closest fire hydrants are some distance away and tanker trucks had to travel several miles to refill at a source before returning to the structure, off-loading, and then making the trip again. This is a very labor-intensive way of supplying water, but something Lexington County’s firefighters train for often and are very good at. They were supplying several fire hoses that were being used by the teams to fight the blaze.
As with all working fires, Lexington County EMS had personnel on the scene making sure that the firefighters and any civilians on the scene were safe. Both battalion chiefs were also on the fire coordinating the supervision of the fight. The duty chief was alerted to move equipment and manpower to cover areas whose fire resources were at the Quattelbaum fire. The utility provider was notified and responded to disconnect the electricity from the home.
Eventually, the fire was called under control after 4:00 a.m. and some trucks and manpower began leaving the scene around 5:00 a.m. The remainder of the county’s trucks and manpower left at 5:50 a.m. The property’s owner requested a sheriff’s deputy respond to take a report because the owner felt the origin of the fire was suspicious. The county hasn’t said if anyone was injured or displaced. More information will probably be available later Monday.
