Fire chief, son recovering after ‘fireball’ injures firefighters at SC wood mill
PAGELAND, S.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — Five volunteer firefighters were injured while on scene of a fire Saturday night in Chesterfield County, according to local fire officials.
The incident happened at the Circle S Shavings Mill, a business that specializes in wood shavings. Chief Bill Busse with High Point Volunteer Fire Department in Pageland said that firefighters occasionally respond to the mill because of power failures or issues with a conveyer belt at the site.
Lancaster County officials discuss road strategies ahead of Target construction
High Point VFD, along with Sandhill Volunteer Fire Dept., were pouring water on the fire when officials said a portion of the blaze came into contact with open air, causing two explosions in quick succession.
“We had a man on a ladder with a pike pole pulling out the shavings, and we were spraying water and we heard an explosion happened,” said Busse. “We told him to come down and two steps down, we saw a fireball and it engulfed about six of us.”
The fire chief of Sandhill VFD, along with his firefighter son were injured. Busse noted the men were all treated on scene and wished to return to the fire, but had began feeling the effects of their injuries.
“No one did anything wrong, there wasn’t an equipment failure,” said Busse. “Sometimes, the pieces come together and things happened like that.”
Sheriff: Child sex assault victim Snapchats evidence of accused abuser in the act
Queen City News reached out to the fire chief that was injured for an update on his condition.
A family member posted on social media that the chief and his son appreciated the community’s response and that both were getting some rest.
For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Queen City News.
