From staff reports
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department responded to a kitchen fire at Laurel Hill Apartments in Port Royal just before 7 p.m., Monday, May 23.
The closest engine to Laurel Hill Apartments was operating at BPRFD’s third water emergency in three days behind the Naval Hospital, working to pull an occupant out of the water. The next closest engine responded and was on scene in less than four minutes and reported light smoke showing from a three-story, multi-family dwelling.
The fire was quickly extinguished by a sprinkler system which prevented any injuries and further damage to the apartment and surrounding apartments.
“Multi-family dwelling fires can be very dangerous for everybody involved, the sprinkler did its job by extinguishing the fire very quickly and preventing any injuries from occurring,” Battalion Chief Matt Bowsher said in a news release.
The City of Beaufort/Town of Port Royal Fire Department, Beaufort County EMS, and the Town of Port Royal Police Department all responded to the incident.
The BPRFD wanted to remind citizens of several facts surrounding residential sprinkler systems:
Residential sprinkler heads do not activate from smoke, they only activate from heat.
In 90% of fires, only one sprinkler head activates to extinguish the fire.
There have been 0 fire deaths in homes protected with fire sprinklers.
Fire sprinklers reduce fire damage by up to 97%.
