SUMTER, S.C. — It was a night of worry for a neighborhood just a fence apart from the flames that engulfed the old V.B. Williams Furniture Plant in Sumter.
Curtis “Jake” Lesane said the sound of emergency vehicle sirens sent him outside. With trees obscuring his view, he worried other homes in the neighborhood had caught on fire.
“It was a shocker,” Lesane said. “I had some family members that called and said we need to evacuate. If it would have crossed two streets, it would have gotten us.”
Later, he discover it was the former furniture plant. Mixed-emotions would follow as he and others watched the flames burn through tightly packed recyclables and as history of a community staple went up in smoke.
“It was devastating,” Lesane said. “This plant for a lot of them guys here, was their occupation back in the day.”
The blaze continued throughout the night. Michael Ballard grabbed his things, worried his home would catch fire.
As the sun rose, the flames continued with the smog leaving a dark cloud over the South Lafayette Drive community.
“I ain’t slept yet, but I’m ‘bout to get some sleep now,” Ballard said.
Firefighters say the blaze has been contained, but believe they are days away from completely putting out the flames.
“It’s contained and under control, but it’s a lot of recyclable material, and a lot of it’s in bales, so it’s hard to be able to get to,” Sumter Fire Division Chief Joey Duggan said. “It’s hard to be able to put out, so we’re going to be here for probably several days working to be able to try get it put it out.”
Although some flames remain, Lesane said he’s feeling thankful.
“The fire department did an outstanding job to contain the flames so these residents would still have their homes today,” Lesane said.
Division Chief Duggan said more than half of the warehouse building burned and the cause to how remains under investigation.
They ask locals in the area to stay away, as they continue to battle the blaze.
Firefighters have called in additional support from around the state and expect to be fighting the flames throughout the week.
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