Gilbert, SC (Paul Kirby) – An attic space fire in a double-wide mobile home on Lewie Road northwest of Gilbert brought county firefighters to fight it from across the region Thursday afternoon. Teams from Lexington County EMS were also on scene and sheriff’s deputies assisted.
The fire was reported at about 1:40 p.m. The first firefighters from Lexington County’s Gilbert Fire Station arrived on the scene within minutes. Others were rushing to the fire from a number of other stations because the nearest fire hydrant was out of reach of their supply hoses. They would need to use water tanks on their equipment to supply water for their fight.
The first teams attacked the fire that was in the attic like space above their heads. The incident commander and his staff were directing them via radio from the outside where the fire was showing itself. Even though it was stubborn, the attack teams were persistent and were able to find the fire and knock it down.
More assistance was called because the ambient temperature and the heat of the fire was taking its toll on the firefighting teams. As trucks from other stations went in to provide relief manpower, others were being redistributed by another fire officer to cover areas of the county whose manpower and equipment were committed on Lewie Road. Just after 2:30 p.m., the fire’s incident commander announced that the fire was under control.
Firefighters stayed on the scene to make sure that all the flames were extinguished and everything was picked up and reloaded on their trucks for some time after the fire was controlled.Lexington County hasn’t released the extent of the damage to the home or the cause of the fire.
