A two-alarm fire damaged a River Oaks condominium in Horry County, South Carolina. The nearby residents say they did not even realize the fire was ongoing, making them question their fire safety.
Two-Alarm Fire at River Oaks Condo
A Carolina Forest condominium complex was damaged by a fire on Saturday morning, April 6, 2024. The nearby residents claim they did not realize the roof of the building was on fire until a neighbor came knocking on their doors.
According to Horry County Fire Rescue, the crews were called just before 10:40 in the morning. The second alarm of the two-alarm fire was sent to give more resources to help the crew at the 400 block of White River Drive. Three units sustained heavy damage, while six other units had water and smoke damage.
Unfortunately, this isn’t the first major fire in the condominium complex. Another two-alarm fire broke out at a different building in September 2022. That fire displaced 20 condominium residents. Repairs for that fire have just recently come to a close.
Residents Question Fire Safety
According to Mary Jude Patterson, a homeowner at the complex, you could see the fire shooting out both ends of the wings. The fire engulfed the entire roof on the inside and kept going. One homeowner spoke with WMBF News, saying they did not even realize the fire was happening. Her smoke alarms did not go off.
Michael Oakley, another resident at the complex, said he saw shingles coming down. He thought they were doing a rip-off as he saw shadows. However, the shadows he saw were not workers’ shadows but smoke from the fire.
It is unclear how many have been displaced by this recent fire, but homeowners say it’s more of a financial strain. According to Patterson, she must pay HOA fees regardless of whether she lives in her unit. She must pay these fees until she can sell her unit, but she cannot sell it in its current state. She has to wait until they rebuild the unit, which will take about two years.
Horry County Fire Rescue will release information about the cause of the fire in the coming weeks.