Delayed by gas leak, unsound structure, investigation into early morning fire has begun

Fire investigators and police detectives have begun their investigation into the cause and origin of a 4 a.m. fire that destroyed one downtown house and damaged two others.

A ruptured gas line and the unstable nature of the buildings at 247 and 245 Rutledge Avenue delayed their entry into the building until after noon. Fire Marshal Mike Julazadeh said it's unclear how much they will be able to get done today because the building is still smoking and the structure is compromised.

Rutledge Avenue remains closed from Spring Street to the Crosstown and could be closed through the end of the day, he said. Motorists are urged to avoid the area.

Charleston firefighters responded to 247 Rutledge Ave. at 3:54 a.m. and found the house engulfed, according to Charleston Fire Department spokesman Mark Ruppel. It quickly spread next door, significantly damaging the house at 245 Rutledge Avenue and causing exterior damage to the house at 243.

Andrew Scales was asleep inside 247 when a roommate woke him up to flames.

"The flames started on the southside porch and spread all the way up to the third floor pretty quick," he said.

The roommates' description about where the fire began is eerily similar to accounts from a string of arson fires that plagued the peninsula in recent years. Many of those fires were sparked on porches and occurred in the early morning hours while people were asleep. Most targeted vacant houses or homes occupied by college students.

Police and fire officials have been probing more than 50 suspicious blazes since 2003 for possible connections to the string. The latest rash occurred in 2009. Then, once police turned up the attention, the arsonist seemed to go dormant.

Julazadeh said witnesses have indicated the fire started on the porch but it's too early to categorize it as suspicious or not suspicious. "We're not ruling anything out."

He said there have been a couple of other fires in the area that are still under investigation. It's too early to say if any of them are related, he said.

Four of the six college-aged tenants who lived at 247 were home at the time.

The roommates grabbed their phones and a computer and got out, but not before trying to put it out, roommate Luke Godwin said.

"We threw a bucket of water on there but it was too big," Godwin said. "It went up pretty fast."

The fire burned bright and hot enough to melt the exteriors of nearby cars. Eight vehicles in all were damaged. "The glass breaking sounded like gunshots," Godwin said.

Drew Sams, was asleep inside 245 Rutledge Ave., when something woke him up. "I noticed outside my window it was completely bright, I thought it was 12 o'clock in the day." He got up and realized that it wasn't the sun, but a fire next door. He and roommate Fabian Wright made sure everyone else was OK and then fled the house.

"We don't have a roof right now," Sams said. "If it didn't melt from the heat, there's water damage. I'm pretty sure we lost everything."

Firefighters from St. Andrews and James Island helped put the fire out as city police officers helped manage traffic. Charleston County Rescue Squad is on scene now helping keep the firefighters cool because of the heat and the length of time they're expected to be out there, Ruppel said.

Check back with postandcourier.com for more details as they become available.