Iredell County: Lake Norman High School student charged with arson, accused of lighting fire on school grounds
A Lake Norman High School student is facing an arson charge for setting fire to a trashcan in a bathroom, authorities said. The Iredell County Sheriff's Office said school resource officers at the high school responded to a fire on the second floor Wednesday afternoon. The fire was set in a boy's bathroom and deputies arrived to find the hallway filled with smoke, a press release stated. A deputy called for the fire department to respond to the school; the fire was contained to a trashcan in the bathroom, according to the release. Students and staff were immediately evacuated after smoke set off fire alarms throughout the school, and additional patrol units responded to assist at the scene, Sheriff Darren Campbell said.
STATESVILLE RECORD AND LANDMARK
Dudley Firefighters Extinguish Vehicle Fire
PHOTO: Thursday afternoon, firefighters from Dudley were dispatched to a working vehicle fire on Forest View Drive off Alert Cable Road in Dudley. As firefighters arrived on the scene, they found smoke coming from under the hood of the car. As firefighters geared up an popped the hood open, they found the fire was mostly on top of the engine. Using a small attack line off of their tanker, the fire was quickly put out. Damage from the fire was contained to the engine area. Firefighters remained on the scene for about thirty minutes collecting information and making sure the fire was completely out.
GOLDSBORO DAILY NEWS
Fire crews hold controlled burn in Brunswick County
VIDEO: Those flames you might have seen in Brunswick County Thursday morning were always under control. Fire crews from Leland and Winnabow held a controlled burn Thursday morning in Leland. The burn was at a home on Village Rd. in Leland. An official on site said firefighters try to set up these burns a couple times a year to give crews real-life experience fighting a fire. The burn lasted for several hours Thursday morning, and into the afternoon.
WWAY-TV ABC 3 WILMINGTON
Rusted Bucket Tavern's rusted bucket catches fire in downtown Burlington
PHOTO: A fire was reported Thursday afternoon, April 18, at the two-story building at 132 E. Davis St. in downtown Burlington— home of the now-closed Rusted Bucket Tavern. The Burlington Fire Department dispatched multiple units to the closed business, prepared to save the structure, at 4:30 p.m. Thursday. When firefighters arrived, the source of the fire was quickly discovered. Smoke wafted from a rusty bucket adjacent to the entrance of the closed bar. Firefighters determined a cigarette butt discarded in the bucket likely ignited a small fire. The fire was extinguished and the call cancelled at 4:35 p.m.
BURLINGTON TIMES NEWS
Dispatchers: They answer Gaston County's emergencies
A 5-month-old baby's heart stopped. A desperate mother dialed 911. Laura Londono answered. She offered the frantic mom CPR tips. The call turned out tragically. A short time later, phones lit up again. This time, passers-by were reporting to 911 telecommunicators that a police car had run off Dallas Bessemer City Highway and crashed. Dallas Police Cpl. Travis Wells would die at the scene. "Sometimes you're strong enough to hold it and sometimes you have to take breathing time," said Londono, a three-year veteran of the job. Not every day brings heartbreak like that November morning last year, but 911 dispatchers must remain on the front line to answer calls for Gaston County residents needing the police, firefighters, or ambulances.
THE GASTON GAZETTE
Referendum will decide proposed Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire District tax hike
Despite local lawmakers' concerns, the board for a South Strand special tax district is moving forward with a property tax hike vote. The Murrells Inlet-Garden City Fire District's board of directors recently signed off on proposing the district's millage cap be raised from 14 mills to 19 mills to be decided by a referendum. The proposed five mill increase means $40 added to the tax bill for an owner-occupied home worth $200,000. At a recent meeting, the board by a 3-2 vote decided to tweak the possible tax hike; instead of the cap increasing by five mills over a four-year period, it would go into effect for fiscal year 2020. The voter registration and elections boards for Georgetown and Horry counties approved the referendum, which is scheduled for July 16.
MYHORRYNEWS
Double blazes keep Lancaster County firefighters busy
County firefighters were slammed with back-to-back fires Wednesday night, with one of the homes a total loss. The first fire happened a few minutes before 8 p.m. at a home on Sunnybrook Lane. With just a small grease fire in the kitchen, the damage was contained to just the one room, Lancaster County Fire Marshal Russell Rogers said. While cleaning up from the first blaze, Camp Creek, Antioch and Shiloh-Zion volunteer firefighters were called out to another fire just three miles away. That call went out at 8:05 p.m. Firefighters who could get away from the first scene headed toward the second, where they were assisted by the Buford Volunteer Fire Department. According to the fire report, the fire is believed to have started when an exposed wire near a power meter hit the vinyl siding of the house. The 1,500-square-foot house suffered severe damage and is unliveable, but there were no injuries in the fire, Rogers said. Firefighters worked the second scene for nearly three hours.
LANCASTER NEWS
Aiken County woman charged in arson, insurance fraud case
An Aiken woman was charged early Thursday morning in connection with a suspicious house fire on Ralph Greene Street in Warrenville in January. Sylvia Marie Mitchell, 56, of Old Camp Long Road, is charged with second-degree arson and presenting false claim for insurance payment, $10,000 or more, according to jail records. On Jan. 24, Aiken County Sheriff's Office deputies responded, along with fire crews, to a structure fire at 207 Ralph Greene Street around 6 a.m., according to the report. Fire crews worked quickly to put out the blaze and checked inside to make sure no one was trapped. There were no reported injuries. After an inspection of the area, investigators reported no one appeared to have been home when the residence caught fire.
AIKEN STANDARD
Update: 19-year-old indicted on 3 charges in fatal Beaufort County boat crash
A man is facing three charges in the fatal boat crash that happened in late February near Parris Island in Beaufort County that killed 19-year-old Mallory Beach. According to Attorney General spokesperson Robert Kittle, Paul Murdaugh, 19, was indicted on boating under influence causing death and boating under the influence causing great bodily injury (two counts). Murdaugh was one of multiple people on the boat at the time. According to the official report from that night by the Port Royal Police Department, all of the underage people, who were all between 19 and 20 years old, were "grossly intoxicated that evening."
WIS-TV COLUMBIA CHANNEL 10