Fire destroys auto body shop
By JIM FAILE
An accidental fire destroyed a Hartsville auto body shop Thursday afternoon.
Hartsville Fire Chief Bill Heathman said one firefighter was injured by falling debris when a part of a wall and door fell. “He was checked out by EMS and treated at the scene and released. He’s fine,” Heathman said.
No other injuries were reported and all of the building’s workers were accounted for, Heathman said.
Firefighters were called to Hutson Body Shop at 1134 N. Fifth Street around 1:15 p.m., Heathman said.
Heathman said the building was 25 to 30 percent involved when firefighters arrived.
The chief said a spark or sparks from some welding that was being done in the building “got loose” and apparently started the blaze.
Three vehicles were damaged and at least one car in the shop was destroyed in the fire. The business owner was able to pull another car out of the building, Heathman said. A boat parked nearby on a trailer was also damaged, he said.
The body shop was housed in the rear portion of the building. Firefighters managed to keep the fire contained to the rear of the building. The front portion of the building houses separate business space, said building owner Richard King.
“We attacked it defensively, which means we didn’t send anybody inside,” Heathman said. “Because of the volume of fire, we fought it from the exterior. Once we determined that everyone was out of the building we continued to fight it from outside. They were trying to keep it from spreading to other parts of the building.”
Jimmy Hutson owns the auto body business and rented the building space from King.
Heathman said downed power lines on two sides of the building when firefighters arrived hampered initial efforts to fight the blaze. “We weren’t able to get to all four sides right away,” he said. “Progress Energy cut the power supply and we were able to get to it.”
About 25 firefighters from the Hartsville Fire Department and the Darlington County Fire District responded to the blaze, according to Heathman, along with emergency personnel from the Hartsville Rescue Squad, Darlington County Emergency Medical Services and the Darlington County Sheriff’s Office.
EMS workers monitored firefighters and kept them hydrated as they fought the blaze, Heathman said.