‘We got all the people we could find’: Locals say they saved lives in North Myrtle fire
One minute, Jason Smith was in the neighborhood visiting and checking out property. The next, he and others were pulling people and pets from houses that were burning down in North Myrtle Beach on Monday afternoon.
“Within five minutes, two houses were completely on fire,” Smith said.
Smith and Randall Jackson, also visiting the area, were among several people who rescued others in danger as three structures on Blossom Street caught ablaze in the Cherry Grove area Monday afternoon.
“We got all the pets we could find, we got all the people we could find,” Jackson said.
Smith said authorities arrived within six or seven minutes. North Myrtle Beach Spokesman Pat Dowling said there were no reported injuries.
“When they got here they did an awesome job,” Smith said of firefighters and police.
Firefighters from North Myrtle Beach and Horry County Fire Rescue were called about 2:30 p.m. to Blossom Street. Two structures were totally involved when firefighters arrived on scene and a third one later went ablaze, Dowling said.
Authorities are unsure of how the fire started and continue to investigate, Dowling said.
One home was total loss and another mobile home had major damage, according to North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue. A third home had extensive damage and a fourth mobile home had heat damage to its siding.
Crews used three hydrants and fought the fire from two streets to prevent it from spreading to other buildings, according to the department.
There was also a small woods fire across the road because of embers in gusty winds, but it was quickly extinguished, according to North Myrtle Beach Fire Rescue.
It wasn’t until 9:30 p.m. that crews cleared the scene.
This story was originally published March 25, 2019 at 2:52 PM.
