6 pets rescued from fire at North Charleston home
Firefighters rescued three dogs and three cats from a burning Dorchester County home Friday.
Three more cats were still unaccounted for hours after fire destroyed the yellow, single-story house at 4606 Battery Range Road, not far from Dorchester and Ashley Phosphate roads.
Ashley River Fire Chief Scott Inabinet said a police officer called in the fire at 11:55 a.m. Firefighters could see the smoke from the fire as soon as they pulled out of their Dorchester Road station, he said. They saw flames coming from the roof when they arrived.
No one was home at the time of the fire. Inabinet said firefighters rescued all of the animals they could find during a sweep of the house but eventually had to pull the men out as the fire swept through the house.
Inabinet said they used specially designed oxygen masks on the animals. A couple of the animals weren't very happy, but they were OK, he said.
The cause of the fire is under investigation, he said.
Linda and Thomas Bremenour said they were both at work when they found out about the fire. They watched as firefighters put out hot spots and pulled their belongings from the house they owned for 10 years and had recently renovated.
When they first moved in, "it was just an old house that needed a lot of work," Linda Bremenour said.
The family said it will stay with relatives for the next few days and figure out where to go from there.
The Old Fort and North Charleston fire departments assisted in putting out the fire, Inabinet said.
The Carolina Lowcountry Chapter of the American Red Cross was notified, and volunteers provided the family with funds for food and clothing to replace things lost in the fire. In addition, they were given comfort kits containing personal emergency supplies.
On Friday night, chapter volunteers helped a Goose Creek family of five displaced by a fire at their home. They were given shelter and emergency supplies.
The Red Cross chapter has provided assistance to 70 residential fire victims since Jan. 1.
Reach Andy Paras at 937-5589 or aparas@postandcourier.com.
