Batesburg-Leesville, SC (Paul Kirby) – One firefighter was transported to a hospital from the scene of a structure fire near Batesburg-Leesville Monday afternoon after experiencing skin irritation and swelling on his face. This occurred after it was believed he had come into contact with something that may have caused an allergic reaction. The fire, reported just after 3:00 p.m., was on Lick Creek Court off Pond Branch Road near the town of Batesburg-Leesville. This is just southeast of J.B. Martin complex.
Firefighters from the Batesburg-Leesville Fire Department and Lexington County responded to the report of a structure fire down the narrow dirt road after a caller reported a mobile home was on fire. Access to the scene was extremely limited as there were low hanging branches and washes in the road that hampered the approach of fire equipment and personnel. When the first equipment arrived on the scene, its crew reported that the burning structure was still further in the woods and would be very difficult to reach. It was deemed a working fire and because of a lack of fire hydrants in proximity to the fire, a number of tanker trucks used to carry water were enroute along with the more fire engines. Most of the fire equipment was staged on Pond Branch to prevent trucks from being blocked in at the scene if they needed to leave to refill with water or to respond to another emergency.
At some point during the fire, one firefighter was believed to have come into contact with something, possibly a plant or vine, in the woods that caused an allergic reaction to his skin and face. A Lexington County EMS crew was on stand-by at the scene and medically trained personnel immediately flushed his eyes and skin with water. Out of an abundance of caution, that firefighter was transported to a local medical facility via ambulance to be checked out. It is believed that his injury was relatively minor.
The fire was eventually brought under control with the cooperation of all departments involved. The cause of the fire has not been released.
