State, local investigators probe West 3rd Street house fire
Firefighters attack a pre-dawn house fire on Tabor City’s West 3rd Street Wednesday morning. (Rocky McPherson photo)
By DEUCE NIVEN
tribdeuce@tabor-loris.com
Fire that destroyed a West 3rd Street home just before dawn Wednesday is under investigation state and local officials, Tabor City Fire Chief Jeff Fowler said.
“It’s a total loss,” Fowler said.
Fire filled the two-story structure when the first firefighters responded to the call just after 5 a.m.
“There was an explosion after I got here,” Fowler said. “It rocked the whole block. It looks like oxygen bottles caused it.”
No one was home and the structure had no electrical power, Fowler said. The owner was spending time between the West 3rd Street house and another on Carolina Road, where she was early Wednesday.
Investigators from the State Fire Marshal’s Office and the State Bureau of Investigation are working with the Columbus County Fire Marshal’s office to determine the cause of the blaze, Fowlers said.
Roseland and Fair Bluff fire departments responded to provide mutual aid extinguishing the blaze, Fowler said.
Look for more on this story in the next Tabor-Loris Tribune in print and online.
