Stations 1, 19, 24, 26 and 27 responded to a natural gas explosion in a residence at 133 Franklin Street at 21:06 hours, Sunday 10-May.  Engines 19 and 26 responded from another incident and arrived to find the single family dwelling 60% involved. The home was shifted on its foundation and the brick veneer was blown off of the structure. A car in the yard received moderate damage from flying bricks and debris. The yard was littered with debris, vent caps and bricks. Firefighters used three handlines to combat the fire. Initially crews made little headway, as the hose streams appeared to have little effect on the fire. Battalion Chief Dan Barb who was on one of the interior crews advised the fire just wouldn’t go out. He noted it was very strange, because the flames appeared to have been in every wall and the attic. It was later determined that natural gas was the culprit.  

Within about ten minutes, crews began to get the upper hand, but the home was heavily damaged as fire raged through the attic destroying the interior of every room.  Two people were in the residence at the time of the explosion. A twenty year old male was transported by Fire-Rescue in Medic 19 to Colleton Medical Center with minor injuries received in the blast. His father escaped uninjured. The fire occurred during a severe thunderstorm. According to a witness