CASSATT, S.C. — A fire has caused extensive damage to a convenience store in Kershaw County.
According to the Cassatt fire chief, the Midway General Store, off Hwy 1 in Cassatt, caught fire when it was open, but everyone was able to get out safely.
News19 spoke with Kershaw County Fire Chief Will Glover who says the fire destroyed around 75% of the building.
"Our first units arrived on scene to find heavy fire and smoke showing from the front of the building," Glover said. "We were able to deploy a couple of hand lines and get a grasp on the fire fairly quick," he adds, 'it's probably about 75% damage throughout the structure."
Glover tells us the store was a staple in the community.
"In the more rural areas of Kershaw County, there's not as many spots to stop at, and get things so, something like this does impact the community a lot," he says.
On Wednesday afternoon, News19 crews saw friends, family, and employees on the scene cleaning up parts of the store and securing the building.
"It wasn't but eight minutes and the whole store was just engulfed; the whole front there was flames shooting out of it, smoke, all that," Kaitlyn Corbitt, who was working at the time of the fire, said.
Corbitt said she's thankful no one was seriously hurt and is optimistic about the store's future.
"Everything in that store is replaceable," she said. "The good thing about it is there were only three of us here; all three of us got out unharmed, not burned, not even needing any kind of medical attention."
No one was injured in the fire, and Glover said the cause is still under investigation.