By Delayna Earley
The Island News
City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department battled residential structure fire in Port Royal that may have been caused by a space heater.
Firefighters were dispatched to the fire off Ritter Circle just after 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 28.
The first responders who arrived on scene first found smoke and flames coming from the one-story residential structure.
The only occupant of the home was transported to Beaufort Memorial Hospital with burn injuries before being transported to the Medical University of South Carolina Burn Center, according to Deputy Fire Chief Ross Vezin.
He also said that the fire is believed to have been started by a space heater, but the cause is still officially under investigation.
“Space heater fires are common and one thing to take away from any type of heat or open flame is, ‘If it has heat, leave 3 feet,’” said Vezin.
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department, the Burton Fire District, Parris Island Fire & Emergency Services, Beaufort County Emergency Management Services, Port Royal Police Department and Dominion all responded to the incident.
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.
Keywords: Delayna Earley, The Island News, Beaufort, SC, South Carolina, Port Royal, LadysIsland, Lowcountry
