Chihuahua dies in Fort Mill house fire

Linda and Wayne Reid lost their chihuahua and untold personal effects in a Monday morning fire, but weren’t injured themselves.

Firefighters responded at 8:57 a.m. to a fire at 245 S. Downs Way, in the Bailiwyck community. They spent four hours there battling blazes on two floors, in the attic and onto the roof.

“The fire marshal is doing the investigation now,” Flint Hill Fire Department Chief David Jennings said. “The fire appeared to start in the living room on the left side of the house, on the first floor.”

Firefighters from the Tega Cay and Riverview fire departments joined, as did Pineville, N.C., firefighters from just across the state line. An aerial platform was used to battle blazes on the roof, and the Fort Mill Rescue Squad brought a rehab trailer to support firefighters.

“We were rotating crews in and out, it was wearing people out so fast,” Jennings said.

The worst part, where Jennings said firefighters were “fighting fire like crazy,” lasted almost two hours. Linda Reid said firefighters from all over arrived, including Pineville, where that department lost a firefighter in a commercial blaze about two months ago.

“It was a fierce, fierce fire,” she said.

Yet the house wasn’t a total loss.

On a corner lot where arterial South Downs Way meets the cul-de-sacked Amberley Crossing, trees in front of the home hid much of the damage toward its rear. The roofline Monday showed signs of the incident, burned through in places.

Reid said early Monday afternoon she hadn’t begun sorting what might be salvaged.

“It’s just stuff,” she said.

The family moved to the home two years ago. Neighbors were on hand Monday as investigators came and went, and information on assistance organizations was presented to the family. Reid said she left the home about 20 minutes before the fire began. An official cause won’t be determined until the investigation is complete.

“It appears to have been electrical in nature, in the wall,” Reid said.

This story was originally published June 27, 2016 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Chihuahua dies in Fort Mill house fire."