A Fair Bluff eatery for more than a decade, The Barn was destroyed by fire early Tuesday.

• The Barn business was gutted early Tuesday in accidental blaze.

By BOB HIGH
Staff Writer

An accidental fire gutted The Barn Restaurant in Fair Bluff early Tuesday as firefighters from 13 departments fought low-water pressure and freezing temperature. (See related story, page 4-A of our printed editon)

The fire was discovered at 4:05 a.m. by Catrina Meares, wife of Fair Bluff Fire Chief Jerry Meares, who was leaving her nearby home for work in Whiteville.

“We made entry into the building and the kitchen area was fully involved. The fire was rolling overhead, and I knew we couldn’t stop it from inside,” the fire chief said.

“I pulled everybody out because it was too dangerous to try and knock it down from the inside. Just about that time it broke through the roof, and I knew it was a done deal,” Meares declared.

13 fire departments

Firefighters and equipment from 13 departments – five of them from Horry County, S.C., units – tried to get enough water on site to stop the blaze as it moved from the rear of the building.

Meares said low-water pressure at the nearest hydrant along U.S. 76 hampered early attempts to control the fire.

“We have three hydrants that are fed from an old water line that dead ends just beyond the restaurant. The line is smaller than others in town, and we could only get about 200 gallons a minute.

“I set up a relay point for water from the closest good hydrant (in front of Fair Bluff Ford’s business) and tankers from several departments brought water as quickly as possible,” Meares pointed out.

Icy conditions

The fire chief said the near 20-degree early-morning temperature hampered efforts. “The road was freezing where we were transferring water, and the spray was freezing on some of the equipment.”

Meares said some firefighters had problems coupling hoses because of the ice. “I called for some Department of Transportation help, and we were lucky to find two trucks filled with salt in Fair Bluff. They had been put here to handle the possible bad weather of a few days ago, and they spread the salt on the road.”

Jeffrey Bell, a fire investigator with the Tabor City Fire Department, said SBI Fire Specialist Kevin Oliver, and three Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearm and Arson investigators based in Wilmington, determined the blaze probably started from spontaneous combustion in some greasy rags.

“There were some rags piled in the storage room at the rear of the building. They had been used by employees to clean equipment and their hands while cooking and cleaning in the kitchen,” Bell stated.

Fire was vented

“We believe the grease and other material in the rags were the cause of the fire,” the investigator declared.

“Fire was coming from the vent at the back of the building when I got there, and it was just too far gone for us to stop,” Meares added.

Meares said equipment and firefighters from neighboring volunteer departments in Cerro Gordo, Chadbourn and Evergreen arrived quickly. Other Columbus County units were called, and Roseland, Tabor City, Brunswick and North Whiteville responded.

A ladder truck was sent by the Loris, S.C., department, and tankers and pumpers, and a rescue unit came from four other rural Horry County units.