OC experiencing Uptick in Structure Fires

Two fires in three days has Oconee County Fire Chief Charlie King stressing the importance of having smoke detectors properly installed in homes. “It’s really throughout the year that we encourage every home to have a working smoke detector in it. Over the last couple of weeks, we’ve seen an uptick in the number of residential structure fires in our county, but have continued to see less than a third of those with a working smoke detector in them. Our county along with a partnership with the American Red Cross provide smoke detectors free of charge to residents in the county. They can call our office at 864-638-4200 to schedule a time to come do a visit and install those detectors. But again, we just can’t stress enough how critical those life saving devices are to have in your home.” Fortunately, no one was injured in the fire on Friday at a home in Fair Play or the home fire on Sunday night in Oakway.