Lexington, SC (Paul Kirby) – A home was destroyed by fire early Saturday morning near Lexington. A second house within a mile of the first caught fire but was saved by firefighters who were well prepared when the next call was received.
The call regarding the first fire was received a few minutes after 1:00 a.m. Saturday. The caller reported a house was burning on Weatherby Court near North Lake Drive close to Lexington. When the first due firefighters arrived, they reported flames had already broken through the roof and was consuming the home.
Trucks were set up and an attack began. Because of the extent of the fire when crews arrived, firefighters used an aerial truck to pour water on the burning house from high above to knock the flames down. Others used handlines to protect nearby homes. Eventually, the fire was brought under control.
Strong thunderstorms had moved through the area prior to the fire. Fire crews were hampered by an energized electrical line, but Dominion Energy’s staff had an extended response as they were dealing with storm damaged lines across the area. When they finally arrived at the fire, the power to the line was cut. The firefighters could then complete their work.
As the fire on Weatherby was brought under control, a second house fire was reported on Carriage Hill Court within a mile of the first fire. Carriage Hill Court is also in a neighborhood off North Lake Drive.
The county’s fire service has standard protocols in place that has an on-call duty officer monitor the radio if both battalion chiefs are tied up on a fire as they were this morning. He had already ordered trucks be moved to cover areas whose equipment and manpower were already committed at the Weatherby fire. That procedure had trucks and teams in place and ready when the second fire was dispatched.
When the Carriage Hill fire was reported, a battalion chief left the first fire and made the quick jump to the second. He arrived within moments and reported that smoke was pushing from the crawl space under the home.
Fire service resources pulled up and a team was direct to assess the fire in the crawl space. They were able put that out as others checked for extension inside the home. A member of their team was able to utilize a thermal imaging camera to locate on spot under the home that was hotter than the rest. That was quickly cooled by the firefighters as they ensured the fire was completely out.
The first home on Weatherby was a total loss. The second home’s damages were moderate at best. Firefighters were assisted by personnel and equipment from Lexington County EMS and law enforcement.
According to Lexington County, the cause of these fires have not been determined at this point.
