Apartment fire displaces 6 families

Fire raced up the wall behind an oven where a West Ashley apartment resident was cooking early Sunday and left 15 people homeless.

The fire at Palms apartments off Orange Grove Road was touched off just before 5 a.m. by careless cooking, said Mark Ruppel, Charleston Fire Department public information officer. It moved to the apartment immediately upstairs and eventually burned six apartments.

Crews from Charleston and St. Andrews fire departments fought the blaze. Four children were among the 15 people displaced among six families, said Bruce Newton and Judy Sperling-Newton, of the Carolina Lowcountry chapter of the Red Cross. The victims were given temporary housing and comfort kits of personal care items. The residents are being referred to other agencies for longer term housing.

The blaze was among a number of residential fires that continue to be reported in the Lowcountry and the state as the cold intensifies. There also were house fires reported in Ladson and James Island on Sunday night. In Huger, firefighters knocked down a fire in an air-conditioning unit at Cainhoy Elementary/Middle School.

Red Cross volunteers have responded to at least seven Lowcountry fires since New Year's Eve. At least 29 people, including nine children, have been displaced.

Elsewhere in South Carolina, three people died late Saturday in a mobile home fire in Honea Path.

The fire appeared to start near a stove the family was using to keep warm along with an electric space heater. There was no other source of heat in the home.

Two other people died in fires early Saturday across the state. A woman was killed in a Greenwood apartment and a man died in a Sumter home.

"With the holiday season and the start of winter, we always see a rise in fires," Ruppel said "But with this extended cold snap, we are asking people to be extra careful and fire smart."

FIRE SAFETY

• Have a working smoke alarm on each level of the house.
• Check the working condition of heating systems and exhausts.
• Make sure electrical outlets aren't overloaded.
• Don't use fuel-burning appliances without proper venting.
• Keep children away from space heaters; clothes can easily catch fire. Don't use electric space heaters in the bathroom or other wet areas. Don't sit other objects on top of a heater.
• Don't leave cooking unattended; if forced to leave food while cooking, carry a spoon or potholder as a reminder. Don't throw water on a grease fire. Don't use a stove or oven to heat the home.
• Don't smoke in bed or when sleepy. Safely dispose of ashes.
• Keep burning candles away from children, pets or flammable objects like drapes. Put them out before you leave or go to bed.
• Have chimneys and flues professionally inspected and cleaned. Dispose of fire ashes safely.

The Associated Press contributed to this report. Reach Bo Petersen at 937-5744.