UPDATE: Portable building burns behind Pleasant Hill Elementary School

Lexington, SC - 02/16/2021 (Paul Kirby) – A portable building caught fire and burned behind Lexington School District One’s Pleasant Hill Elementary School early Tuesday morning. The school, located near Rawl and Pisgah Church Roads, is one of a pair that includes an middle school of the same name on the same tract of land.

The first caller identified the fire as being behind the middle school. It was only after fire crews arrived that they found it was behind the main structure of the elementary school.

The fire was reported around 5:00 a.m. Tuesday, February 16, 2021. Fire units were on scene quickly from stations across the heart of Lexington County.

The ranking officer with the first due equipment reported that the, “moderate sized portable building,” was approximately 50% involved in fire and flames were already coming trough the roof when he arrived. Firefighters pulled hoses from their trucks and made their attack.

The bulk of the fire was knocked down in about 25 minutes, but the fire crews were on the scene much longer ensuring all the fire was out.

At one point, a hazardous materials unit from the county’s Oak Grove Station was requested to deal with something found on the scene. That material hasn’t been identified by the fire service or the school district as of this writing. The electricity to the burning building was disconnected for the safety of the firefighters on the scene.

The fire that destroyed this building did not appear to have any affect on any other buildings on the campus. The school district will communicate with parents through their phone and email systems if there is any need to convey information about the fire or the main building’s scheduled to parents. As the remains of the building were being watered down around 6:00 a.m. Tuesday, it seemed unlikely that there would be any major change to the school’s schedule today.