Apartment Heavily Damaged After Fire at Hampton Harbor

Tabbatha Elmore was enjoying an afternoon at home before she had to go to her third-shift job when her children came to tell her their next door neighbor's back porch was on fire.

"My daughter's came running to me, 'Mama, the neighbor's back porch is on fire,' " Elmore said. "I could see the fire burning when I looked out the window and could see fire coming up from the porch."

Elmore said she told her children to get clothes and shoes on quickly. She said she grabbed her kids, her pocketbook and car keys and left the apartment.

Elmore said she ran next door to let her neighbor know.

"I bammed on the door several times and no one answered," Elmore said. "We called 911 and stood and watched her apartment burn and prayed she was OK."

Assistant Chief David Bailey of Wade Hampton Fire Department said his department got the call about 1:56 p.m. at Hampton Harbor Apartments on Wade Hampton Boulevard. It took about 25 minutes to contain the blaze, he said.

Bailey said one apartment has heavy fire damage and two other units suffered smoke and water damage. Residents of the building escaped without injury, he said.

Elmore said she was relieved to find out a short time later that her neighbor was just returning home, having had surgery on her foot last week.

After firefighters allowed residents to return to their apartments, Elmore and her family got to look at the damage inside their own home.

"Nothing is burned," Elmore said. "We have some smoke and water damage to one wall, so they said we will have to move to another apartment. I thank God everyone got out safe."

Bailey said that at this time, they have not been able to determine the cause of the fire, but do believe that it started outside the apartment building and then went in through the cedar siding.