SUMTER, S.C. — A Sumter daycare caught fire on Thursday with 47 kids and six staff members inside. News 19 arrived shortly after the call came into first responders.
"It went up so quick, so quick," Jennie Lewis said.
Lewis works next door to The Club House Learning Center on Wilson Hall Road. When she saw smoke coming from the building, Lewis said she ran toward the smoke.
"It was pouring out everywhere, and you could hear the glass breaking, and as I went around the front and to the other side, I didn't even make it halfway around the other side, and I could not breathe in that smoke," Lewis said.
Lewis said shortly after, first responders arrived on the scene. Sumter Fire Division Chief Jeffrey Shirley said the call came in at 12:38 p.m. Shirley said 26 firefighters from five stations responded. When they arrived, Shirley said the fire engulfed 60% of the building, and his team got it under control in about 40 minutes.
When his department arrived, Shirley said all the children and staff were safely out of the building.
"It's a Godsend," Shirley said. "So often, the results are the other way, and in the event that this had to happen, if the building burned, the stuff inside the building can be replaced. But thankfully, all the occupants are safe and accounted for."
"Praise God," Sharon Goff said, choking up with emotion. "Thank you."
Goff works at a dental office across the street and said she was returning from her lunch break when she saw the smoke. Immediately, Goff said she ran toward the flames to help.
"That's really what I thought about first was running to the kids," Goff said. "As soon as we got there, the daycare workers had already started putting the babies in the back of a vehicle, back of a van, the school van that they keep, and they were taking five and six children out at a time. So I just ran to the back door just asking how I could help. And it was getting the kids from the back door to the local funeral home, which is where we all walked, counted, got headcount and everybody was safe and good."
Goff said the kids she was helping were all different ages, from infants to four-year-olds.
"They had five infants that they brought out immediately. And again, I can't, I can't command the staff and Wendy the director enough," Goff said. "As soon as we saw the smoke, the whole community just started running to see what they could do to help in the whole plaza here. Again, first thing you think of is kids, and how can I help? How many can I grab for safety? And they did. They all pitched in? It's wonderful."
After she knew they were safely out of the building, Goff said she spoke with parents who had come to get their children.
"Just making sure, calming them down, prayed with them a few," Goff said. "Just letting them know they were strong. They were big boys and girls and that their friends were OK. And I got big smiles after that. So the kids were great. Great."
Goff, who works with Wedgefield Baptist Church's daycare, said she's now working to help ensure these kids have a place to go.
"We're in contact now with DSS and with Wendy, the director at the daycare, and just seeing what we can do," Goff said. "You know, these babies have to go somewhere. You know, parents still have to work. You know, they have a schedule. They still have to work, so if we can help them, we have an orphanage at Wedgefield Baptist also that is not open yet. And so we're going to try to accommodate that."
As of Thursday evening, the Sumter Fire Department said it does not know the cause or origin of the fire, although Shirley said his crew is working to determine what started it.
Carol Croft worked alongside Lewis at Jenni's Exchange and said she's grateful everyone is OK.
"For parents that had kids in there, I'm glad y'all got them back," Croft said, overcome with emotion. "It happened so fast."
Shirley said investigators with the daycare's insurance company would investigate, and his crew would also work to determine what caused the fire. They hope to have more information in the coming weeks.