CSRA crews battle 4 structure fires during extreme heat this week
AIKEN, S.C. (WRDW/WAGT) - Firefighters have battled three home fires and one structure fire during extreme temperatures this week in Aiken and Burke County, according to authorities.
In the latest fire, Aiken crews responded to a shed that caught on fire on the 600 block of Oliver Street in Beech Island on Friday just after 10 a.m., according to dispatch.
A firefighter on scene told us it was an electrical fire and there were no injuries.
However, they said the damage was pretty substantial.
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The owners said the building is a shed used for storage and as a garage, firefighters said.
There was a car and furniture in the building, that is now a “total loss,” according to officials.
Dispatch said there have been no injuries reported and no surrounding buildings are in danger.
They are still on the scene as of 10:24 a.m.
On Tuesday, crews battled three home fires in Aiken and Burke counties.
Aiken crews responded to a structure fire on the 100 block of Iroquois Street on Tuesday, according to officials.
The Aiken Department of Public Safety says the call came in at 8:37 p.m.
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According to crews on scene, the roof collapsed during the fire.
There were no injuries reported and the house was abandoned, officials say.
Dominion Energy also responded to the scene for a short time.
Also in Aiken, public safety officers and volunteer firefighters battled a fire that damaged a home on on Aldrich Street northeast, during intense afternoon heat on Tuesday.
The American Red Cross is helping three people by providing financial assistance for immediate needs such as food, clothing, and shelter, along with referrals to much needed resources.
In Burke County
Burke County firefighters battled a home fire on Highway 24 south of Sardis for over two hours on Tuesday afternoon.
No injuries have been reported, authorities say.
Home fires are so dangerous that they claim more lives in a typical year than all natural disasters combined. But working smoke alarms can cut the risk of dying in a home fire by half. The sooner an alarm alerts you to a fire, the sooner you can get out. This is critical because fire experts say you may have less than two minutes to escape a burning home before it’s too late.
To help protect your household, test your smoke alarms each month and practice your escape plan until everyone can get out in less than two minutes, the Red Cross advises.
Fires now travel faster through homes, largely due to popular open-concept layouts and synthetic materials. Synthetics burn more rapidly than hardwood and cotton, which were more common in older homes that typically had more walls and doors, lower ceilings, and narrower hallways that help to better confine fires.
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