Fire on a cold day in South Carolina leaves six without a home, officials say
A fire in South Carolina on Monday afternoon left six people without their home, according to the Columbia Fire Department.
At about 4 p.m., crews responded to the burning building on Candlelite Drive, the fire department said on social media. That’s in a part of Columbia between Bluff and Shop roads, near Exit 5 on I-77.
When they arrived, firefighters saw smoke coming from the roof and heavy smoke inside the home, according to the fire department.
Crews extinguished the fire in the rear of the property as well as the home’s attic, the fire department said. Information about how long it took to put out the fire was not available.
No one was injured, according to the fire department.
It was not clear if the damage to the home caused it to be considered a total loss, but six people were displaced, the fire department said.
A space heater caused the fire that quickly spread through the home, according to the fire department. Temperatures in Columbia were in the low 40s at about 4 p.m., according to Weather Underground.
“Any source of heating in your home can cause a fire but some devices are more risky than others,” Fire Chief Aubrey Jenkins recently said in a news release. “Space heaters and fireplaces are heating sources that definitely require the most attention. Leaving either unattended for any length of time can have drastic consequences.”
According to the National Fire Protection Association, space heaters and heating stoves were the biggest cause of home heating-related fires from 2019 through 2023, the fire department said in the release. Fires caused by these devices resulted in the most fire deaths, fire injuries and property loss during that five-year period.
Fire safety tips
Take the following steps to heat your home safely during the cold months ahead:
- Keep anything that can burn (including carpet) at least 3 feet away from a portable space heater
- Only use space heaters on hard surfaces e.g.: hardwood, tile, etc.
- Have a 3-foot “kid-free zone” around open fires and space heaters
- Remember to turn portable heaters off when leaving the room or going to bed
- Consider purchasing space heaters with a “kill switch” that will turn the unit off if it tips over
- Power your space heater by plugging the device DIRECTLY into a wall outlet! DO NOT use extension cords or power strips to power the space heater!
SOURCE: Columbia Fire Department
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