SLED investigating fire
By TIM GULLA Ledger Staff Writer tim@gaffneyledger.com

A SLED fire investigator conducts a probe Tuesday into the cause of an early morning fire on Mattie Street that may be a case of arson.

A Tuesday morning fire on Mattie Street that gutted a home is under investigation by the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office and the South Carolina Law Enforcement Division as a possible case of arson.

The renter of the home, Melvin Dillingham, 47, was awakened by the sound of breaking glass just after midnight. The front porch of 120 Mattie Street was fully engulfed when firefighters arrived.

"He (Dillingham) believes somebody probably set the house on fire," Gaffney Fire Chief Nathan Ellis said.

"Typically, if you look at a front porch, there isn't much that could start a fire (on its own)," he said. "The occupant's statement matched the evidence at the scene."

Based on the apparent point of origin and the victim's statements, Ellis said the Sheriff's Office was asked to investigate. A report from the Cherokee County Sheriff's Office showed SLED was contacted for assistance.

A SLED fire investigator was at the Mattie Street property into Tuesday afternoon. He said he could not talk about the probe.

The home is owned by Peter Blackwell. The fire losses are pegged at about $30,000, according to the Sheriff's Office.

American Red Cross of Cherokee County was called to the scene to assist Dillingham and another occupant of the home, who was not present when the fire broke out.

Dillingham lost some parts of a prosthetic leg in the fire, Ellis said, and both occupants will need temporary shelter.

In an unusually busy day for the Gaffney Fire Department, the early morning blaze on Mattie Street was the first of three to occur Tuesday.