SUMTER COUNTY, S.C. — Crews remained on the scene for hours on Thursday after a house caught fire in the Wedgefield community on Thursday afternoon.
A spokesperson for the Sumter Fire Department said that roughly 16 firefighters were ultimately called to the scene on Aretha Lane just before 2 p.m.
There, the first arriving firefighters found flames already rising through the roof and smoke bellowing out on all sides. Initially, crews began going on the offensive to fight the fire and head in after being told that the lone elderly resident may still be inside.
However, he soon arrived home and fire crews learned that the home was vacant. From there, the crews fought the fire from the outside and had the main portions of it under control in about 45 minutes, officials said.
Due to several wooden additions to the older cinderblock home, crews have continued to find other areas where fire has spread in the home and, as of about 7 p.m., firefighters were still on the scene.
Authorities have been able to isolate the area where the fire started to a bedroom in the home. And while the cause is still under investigation, preliminary findings don't appear to indicate the fire was suspicious.
The fire occurred in a largely rural area of the Wedgefield community of Sumter County and no other damage was reported outside the home itself.
No injuries were reported and the American Red Cross has been called to assist the resident.
