Firefighters battle 2 working fires at once Thursday morning in the Irmo Fire District’s response area

Irmo, SC 05/09/2024 (Paul Kirby) – Fire crews and multiple resources from the Irmo Fire District, County of Lexington’s Fire Service, West Columbia Fire Department, and the City of Columbia Fire Department responded Thursday morning to a residential structure fire in the 200 block of Townes Road. The original call came in about 10:30 a.m. Upon arrival, crews found a heavy volume of fire in several parts of the structure that was causing substantial damage. The residents were not at home although several pets were rescued. No injuries were reported.

While resources were working to control the first fire, a second structure fire was dispatched inside the Irmo Fire District. At 11:05 a.m. crews from the City of Columbia Fire Department and Lexington County’s Fire Service responded to a residence in the 400 block of West Passage. Heavy fire was found in the garage when they arrived. That was causing heat and smoke damage to the rest of the house. The residents were not home at the second fire either. There were also no injuries at this home.

All of this occurred as a thunderstorm moved through the area.

Thanks to the Irmo Fire District’s strong automatic aid agreements with neighboring agencies, both fires were extinguished, and the district was covered by additional units.

The causes of the fires are under investigation.