BISHOPVILLE, SC (WIS) - A fire station caught on fire Tuesday night. It happened in the small town of Bishopville. The fast response of Lee County firefighters and emergency workers helped avoid a total loss.

Lt. Brian Eargle says, "It's obvious no one is safe from fire. It can happen to anyone at anytime. Fire - it doesn't care who it picks."

Lt. Eargle takes WIS News 10's Angie Goff through the damaged building. In one blackened area, he tells her, "We had some plaques here on the wall ... station of the year."

He shows the ruined rooms one by one - the Lieutenant's office, the dayroom area, and the bedroom.

That's where Lt. Eargle was when the fire started. "The smell of smoke woke me up."

That was about 11:30 Tuesday night, according to Chief Mike Bedenbaugh.

"Soon as I opened the door it was this high solid black smoke," says Lt. Eargle. "I went out the back door and got the trucks out as quick as I can."

He put in the emergency call, "I was actually crawling through and grabbed my radio to call dispatch."

"Actually had first firefighters here within probably two minutes," he says. "We had it under control in about 30 minutes."

As for the cause, he says, "Right now - at this time we're think it was an electrical outlet."

"When I got home and saw my family, I was extremely thankful I was able to get out, of course."

And Lt. Eargle is optimistic about the future of the station, "This is a home away from home for us. We'll bounce back. We'll get it cleaned up, put some new furniture in here, and we'll continue to do our job!"

Despite the building being burnt, the overnight on-duty officer will still be on duty, sleeping 60 yards away in Lee County's Emergency Operations Center.

The chief says it'll be like that for a couple months till they get it cleaned up.

Officials estimate the fire caused at least $40,000 in damage.

Reported by Angie Goff

Posted by Bryce Mursch