Rug and Home store gets scare

The Gaffney Fire Department raced to a reported working structure fire at the Rug and Home store but luckily a fire suppression system kept an electrical fire under control and contained to a utility room before firefighters arrived. An electrical fire shut down a popular Gaffney business Thursday morning but won't keep it closed for very long.

Firefighters raced to the Rug and Home store near Prime Outlets — Gaffney upon reports of a working structure fire at the business. Luckily, the fire was contained to electrical panels in a closed-off second floor utility room and essentially was extinguished by the building's built-in sprinkler system.

The incident forced the Rug and Home store to remain closed for the day Thursday until repairs could be made, but the store's sales manager said the business hoped to reopen by Friday morning.

"We'll know more by the end of the day," sales manager Dusty Head said.

Luckily, fire officials said the large twostory home furnishings store didn't suffer any major losses.

"This was another win for fire suppression systems," said Gaffney Fire Chief Nathan Ellis. "It probably saved the building and at least 25 jobs. Rug and Home can probably tell you how much merchandise was saved."

Head confirmed there was no damage to any of the store's merchandise, since the fire was contained to the utility room.

Ellis noted that only three sprinkler heads activated and all of them were located in the second-floor utility room.

The first floor of the Rug and Home store is loaded with rugs. The business advertises that it has more than 50,000 rugs in stock.

Ellis said the second floor did fill with light smoke but all of the damage was contained to the utility room. "It wasn't a thick, black smoke," he said, which is the type that normally causes damage.

Firefighters pulled some wall and ceiling material down to make sure there was no concealed fire and were able to turn off the sprinklers to avoid any additional water damage in the utility room area.

The Gaffney Board of Public Works was called to the scene to disconnect power service to the building and contractors were called to address the power systems inside the building.

The store had not yet opened for business when the incident occurred. Head was just getting ready to open when he said he heard some popping noises and saw smoke when he went to investigate the noises.

"We would like to thank the city fire department and Mr. Ellis for the quick response," he said.

Ellis said the fire stemmed from the main breakers and switches for the electrical service to the building. He could only estimate the damage to the electrical system as "several thousand dollars."

No one was injured.

Macedonia Volunteer Fire Department and Grassy Pond Volunteer Fire Department provided additional manpower and equipment at the scene.