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<p><strong>Knight’s Inn Motel catches fire Sunday at Point South</strong></p>
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<p><strong>From staff reports</strong></p>
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<p>A Jasper County Sheriff’s deputy working night security at Point South at I-95 helped stop a small motel fire from possibly becoming a disaster Sunday, Dec. 12, according to a release from Jasper County administration.</p>
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<p>Around 8:30 p.m. Dec. 12, Jasper County Sheriff’s Staff Sgt. Charles Williams was on a car patrol in Point South and was driving through the parking lot of the Knight’s Inn Motel. He noticed what appeared to be fog forming near the farthest point of the motel – but rolled down his patrol car window and smelled smoke.</p>
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<p>Williams radioed the Jasper County communications center and asked for fire and emergency services support, then began evacuating guests from the rooms closest to the fire.</p>
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<p>Jasper County Fire and Rescue, Sheldon Fire Department and Hampton County Fire Rescue responded to the motel fire due to its location on I-95 and its proximity to those fire stations.</p>
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<p>Arriving fire crews encountered a motel room on fire on the second floor, and some of that room already had collapsed onto the room below. Crews quickly contained and put out the fire.</p>
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<p>“The quick work by all responders limited the impacts of the fire and safeguarded the occupants. Staff Sergeant Williams did a great job of being alert and investigating something that at first appeared to be simple fog but turned out to be a motel room on fire,” Jasper County Director of Emergency Services Chief Russell Wells said in a release.</p>
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<p>The cause of the fire is still under investigation. No injuries were reported and at this time, there’s no damage estimate.</p>
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