By Delayna Earley
The Island News
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department and Burton Fire District responded to a structure fire at a residence in the Picket Fences subdivision in Port Royal on Monday, March 11.
The homeowner was in the residence, but she and her cat were able to exit the home safely thanks to properly working fire detectors, according to Beaufort/Port Royal Deputy Fire Chief Ross Vezin.
The fire departments responded just before 2 p.m., and they were on the scene in less than four minutes according to a press release from the City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department.
Heavy fire and smoke were reportedly coming from the chimney area of the one-story home and firefighters were able to attack the fire from the inside of the home to prevent it from spreading to any of the nearby homes.
It took about half an hour to extinguish the fire, according to Vezin, but fire crews were on the scene for approximately three hours.
It is unclear at this time what caused the fire, but the fire appears to have started near the fireplace in the home, according to Vezin.
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department, the Burton Fire District, Beaufort County EMS, Port Royal Police Department and Dominion Fire all responded to the scene, according to the release.
Vezin said that the fire caused significant damage to the home, and the homeowner and her cat have been displaced.
The fire is still under investigation.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
