House fire, brush/trash fires, medical emergencies among calls
Staff reports
If Monday, April 27, was any indication, it was to be a busy week for the Burton Fire District.
As of 7 p.m., Monday evening, Burton Fire District personnel had responded to more than 16 emergency calls including a house fire, a large brush fire, two trash fires and a critical medical emergency.
Just past 6:30 a.m., Burton, MCAS, and Sheldon firefighters responded to a large brush fire on Island Tank Road in Burton. Firefighters arrived on scene to find a large but slow-moving brush fire along a ditch behind some homes.
The fire took longer than 90 minutes and 6,000 gallons of water to extinguish. It is believed to have been caused by outdoor burning that was not completely extinguished the evening prior.
Just past noon, and again just past 5 p.m., Burton firefighters extinguished two trash fires.
Just before 3:30 p.m., Burton firefighters and Beaufort County EMS responded to the Grays Hill boat landing on Clarendon Road after a personal watercraft exploded causing the teenage operator serious injuries.
Again, just after 5 p.m., Burton and MCAS firefighters, along with Beaufort County EMS and the Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office, responded to a house fire at the Laurel Village Mobile Home Park on Shanklin Road. Fire crews arrived to find smoke coming from a home and reports of three children unaccounted for.
Firefighters entered and searched the home while simultaneously extinguishing the fire. Fire damages were contained to the stove area, and all three children were located down the street at another residence.
The fire was caused by unattended cooking. The home had no working smoke alarms. No injuries were reported. Burton firefighters installed two smoke alarms before leaving.
Burton fire officials remind residents that South Carolina remains under an Outdoor Burning Ban – no outdoor burning is permitted. The burning ban went into effect April 17. Since that time, the Burton Fire District has responded to 27 outdoor fires.
