Irmo, SC (Paul Kirby) – Firefighters from the Irmo Fire District were assisted by crews from the Lexington County Fire Service and the City of Columbia Fire Department as they fought a fire in the 500 block of Parlock Road Tuesday evening. The call came in after 6:00 p.m. Irmo police officers arrived on the scene first and reported that the single-family home was an active and working fire.
When firefighters arrived, they found a single-story home with smoke and flames coming from it. As firefighters came off the first truck that arrived, others established a water supply by hooking a large diameter hose to a fire hydrant that was just across the street.
As the first team entered the home, they established that a room and its contents were burning. They were able to apply their water stream to the base of the fire and bring it under control quickly.
Irmo PD officers had already spoken with neighbors who had gathered near the burning home. They established that the homeowners had been at the house earlier but had gone out. They did say that there was a dog and a pet pig in the home at the time of the fire. Firefighters were able to rescue those animals and they are said to be in good health.
Trucks were moved from several Lexington County stations to fill in at Irmo stations that were committed to the fire. They were being directed by a battalion chief from the North Region Headquarters of Lexington County on Park Road.
Operations Chief Sloan Valentinas of the Irmo Fire District said that the family was displaced but he believes that the home can be repaired. Valentinas also said that the Irmo Fire District appreciated the assistance of the crews from the City of Columbia and the Lexington County Fire Service in fighting the fire. In ambient temperatures that were in the 90s with a heat index over 100, it was imperative that the extra manpower was there to assist in extinguishing the fire so quickly without injuring a firefighter.
