By Terri Richardson
The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. — Sean Kearney’s dog wouldn’t stop barking early Friday morning. But it was only when he heard several loud booms that he looked out his back window and saw flames coming from a neighboring apartment unit in the Forestbrook area.
Kearny said he told his son to dial 911 and rushed outside to help others get out of their homes.
“I looked out the back window and 4-foot flames are going,” Kearney said Friday morning at the scene of the fire.
Eight residences were damaged by the fire that started about 3:05 a.m. at 801 Burcale Road, according to the Horry County Fire Rescue.
One upstairs residence received heavy fire damage, the fire rescue said on Facebook.
No injuries were reported. It is unclear how many people were displaced from the fire.
A restoration crew was at the site Friday morning cleaning out items and boarding up apartments.
A woman who was also there to pick up a resident who apparently lived in one of the homes was concerned about where the resident might have gone. She hoped the woman was staying with neighbors, she said.
Kearney said he began kicking in doors of bottom units and helping people get out. He said other neighbors also helped in getting people to safety.
It is unclear what caused the fire, but Tony Casey, spokesperson with the Horry County Fire Rescue, said it is under investigation by both Fire Rescue and Horry Police Department.
The fire became a two-alarm fire and Myrtle Beach Fire Department, Myrtle Beach Rescue Squad and South Carolina Department of Public Safety assisted.
The American Red Cross is assisting two families whose homes were damaged, a release said.
It was not immediately clear who owned the apartments.
___
(c)2023 The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.)
Visit The Sun News (Myrtle Beach, S.C.) at www.thesunnews.com
Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.